What relation, if any, is there between religious teachings and social and civic conduct?

BOSTON UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF SDUCATIO^J

Thesis

7;HAT relation, if Ai^iY, IS THERE BETWEEN
RELIGIOUS TEACniilGS AliD SOCIAL Ai.T CIVIC COIiDUCT?

Submitted by

Ruth Carleton Beckford
(3.S. in- Ed., Salem Normal School, 1928)

In partial fulf ilLiae.it of requirements for the degree of

Master of Education

TABLE OF CO i\i TENTS

Preface

Book One
Is Our Inquiry Significant?

Chapter One - Page 1

Tihat Aakes a Thing Significant

Chapter Two 4
YVhere Shall V.e Fin'd Evidence?

Chapter Three 6
Understanding our Terms: Religious Teachings

Chapter Four 10
Understanding c.r Ter.ns: bocial and Civic Conduct

Book Two
The Psychological Vievirpoint

Chapter Five 20
What Psychologists Say

Book Three

Surveys of Agencies biving Religious Teaching

Chapter Six 30
Purpose of the Survey

Chapter Seven 51
The Church — vihat is it Doing?

Chapter Sight 50
The Public School — V.iiat is it Doing?

Chapter liine 54
The Private School — What is it Doing?

Chapter Ten 59
Y*hat is Being Done Through Other Agencies?

Cliapter Eleven 62
Measuring the Results of Religious Teachings

BoOiC Four

An Analysis of the Specific Civic Conduct Shortage
— Lac-; of Respect for Law.

Chapter Twelve 75
The Present Situation

Chapter Thirteen

Causes of Lawlessness

C'.:apter Fourteen

Can Religious Teachings Eliminate This Shortage

Chapter Fifteen

A Summary and Some Conclusions

Bibliography

P R S i?' A C S

Probably there is no cthsr one subject about which
people speculate more and really think less, than this
matter of religious teaching, as related to right living.
You will find opinions ranging all the way from those who
affirm comfortably th.:;t religious teaching has always been,
is now and ever shall be, the one sure and effective .neans of
making people "good" (whatever they may mean by that much
abused word) to those who mockingly point to the anti-social
practices ind :lged in by professed religionists, as the final
procf tliat such teachings are valueless.

Is t:.ere any way in which v/e can disentangle from
the oass of opinions, any reliable information that would
give us some valia conclusioas on this matter of the real
value of this factor - f religious teac'-dng? To attempt to do
this, so that we as educators .'nay know where bo stand on the
quesoion, is the purpcse of this t .'esis. The difficulty lies
not in the fact that there is not abundant laaterial at hand to
investigate- quite the contrary — its very abundance makes it
difficult to "boil it dov/n" and present the essential infor.'aa.tion
in a not too lengtl:^ form.

In order to avoid having it seem just another opinion
I tried to include enough : actual evidence to support wj con-
clusions, but it was impossible to give asmuch as I could have
wished. I have accordingly included a bibliography which deals
more extensively with each problem brought up in each section
so that further reading may be done.

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2014

https://archive.org/details/whatrelationifanOObeck

BOOK ONE

IS OUR INQUIRY SIGNIFICANT?

Chapter *^ne
Y/hat Malces a Thing S.Lgnif icant?

•^ne of the great defects of present day educational
endeavor, according to Snedden, is the tendenc:; of schools
prematurely to attempt to achieve educational results that
quite naturally weald come through extra school agencies if
the school had not made any effort. There seems to be an
imolication here that schoolmen are too prone to chase
educational butterflies, without first giving sufficient
thought to the value of the thing oursued. They should
rather stop and ask themselves "Is th&t sometliing that is
significant for us as educators, and if significant must we
take care of it or Cc-n it be handled just as effectively
by some other agencies?"

In of the fact tliat our present educational

system is, according to many authorities, becoming positive-
ly tangled up v/ith the many additions to its work, then it
would seem that we as educators would do well before attack-
ing a new problem, to ask ourselves the prop sed question —
"Is it significant?"

Let us put to this test a problem which more and
more we are hearing discussed today, and see v/hether it
holds anything that sho!^ld challenge our thinking. It is
the problem of v/hether or not there is any relation between
religious teaciiing and social and civic conduct, and if so
is this of any impcrtance to us — should we do anytliing about
it?

In a country ' established upon the principle of
entire separation of church and state, it would seem at
first thought that the ublic schools, founded primarily to
insure good citizens for this state, could have nothing to
do with religious teaching, which is generally accepted as
being the special care of the church.*

Yet, does not this very fact that one of the great
reasons for the existance of the public schools is the making
of good citizens, make this problem a significant one for
educators to face, for many people today are insisting that
in order to realize this aim v;e must, in sor."e v/ay, "put God
in the picture of American life."

Athearn, in his book, "Character Buildinr in a
Democracy" goes as far as to say "Democracy will not be sefe
for the world until democrats learn how to make secular and
religious education efficient and iiniversal . "^'Ht

History furnishes us with too many examples of
Godless countries ending in tragedy, to m&ke us feel tha.t
men can learn to "live together well in large group relation-
ships", without this element in their lives.

it would seem, then, measured by the~yardstick of
significance, that here is a problem with vfhich, sooner or
later, educators must come to grips, if they are to carry
out the function of Tnaking those good citizens, which here

^ Encyclical on Ec^jication of Women issued by Pope Pius XI
January 19, 1951

Athearn. Character Building in a Democracy P. 21

-5-

in our democratic America, we say we must have in order to
carry on.

Chapter Two
V/here Shall le Find Evidence?

Quite naturally the next question to arise v/ould
be "Is there any foundati_pn for this belief that religion
plays a vital part in the life of our nation?" TVhere can v/e
find any evidence to substantiate this feeling?

Even a hasty glance at the abundance of material
available, dealing with this problem, leaves us with the
impression that there must be something more to tliis question
than we had, perhaps, thought.

Probably most interesting to us as teachers, is
the attitude of psychologists on this question. While still
a comparatively new study, psychology has demonstrated that
it can do much to help us in meeting our teaching problems
and so it is only natural that we should turn to it in this
instance to see whether it can shed any light on this
particular problem.

Another source of information would seem, per-
haps, to those who are pragmatically inclined, to be even
more indicative of the importance of this problem. If we
were to make a study of the agencies giving religious teaching
see what they are offering, measure their civic and social
values, we mii:ht arrive at some conclusions which would in-
dicate their possibilities as factors in developing a
better attitude.

Even more of a test would be an examination of
any surveys that had been made to try and ascertain whether
or not these teachings had resulted in more valuable con-
duct. Fortunately some of these tests, though still in a
very exj:erimental stage, have been developed, and used, so
that we have available some data on the actual results of
such teachings.

Let us turn to these tv/o sources then, and see what
they hold for us.

Chapter Three
Understanding our Terms : Religious Teachings

Someone has aptly said that at best words are but
cliansy carriers of thought, for they mean so many different
things to different people. Even when Y7e are dealing with
concrete and common things, it is so easy to be misunder-
stood and misinterpreted, ^t would seem very essential,
therefore, that before proceeding further in our in-
vestigation we try to make very clear just what we mean
when we so glibly use the terms "religious teacliings"
and "social and civic conduct." Just what is this thing
that we thinlc Trill be beneficial and just what is the
effect we think it should produce?

Religious teaching — so often said and so little
understood. Vvhen vie try to define it it probably is one of
the most elusive words v;e know — Religion. Too often in
the popular mind it is synonymous with "theology", en-
tangled with doctrinal meanings and conceptions. Yet it
is almost the entire opposite of that.

In January, 1916, the National Education
Association published a monogxaph, dealing with "The
Essential Place of Religion in Education" in v/hich they
recognize this difficulty.* "Much of the conf'i.sicn arises
from v.'hat Jsones calls a kind of 'mental blindness', ^t is

* Section One. Monograph pu lished by N.E.A., January,
1916, "The Essential Place of Religion in Education"

hard to express in vrords what we mean. Religion is not
sometliing that can be made the object of study as can
spelling, for instojice. Religious education is not in-
struction in the Bible, valuable as that is. It is not a

body of doctrine, it is not a philosophy or even theology.
If it is not a body of objects and practices, if it is not
a body of doctrines and dogmas, v/hat is it? Religion may
be clumsily defined as the 'life of God in the soul of man.'

We find that this view- is echoed by many edu-
cators writing on this subject. Betts feels that "it takes
the child, endcv/ed as he is with capacities for both evil
and ^ood and seeks to stimulate the good and suppress the
bad."* "It is the systematic examination and recon-
struction of relations betvtoen j^ersons, guided by Jesus'
assumption that persons are of infinite worth, and by the
hypothesis of the existance of God, the great Valuer of
persons", says G. A. Coe in discussing the question "What is
Christian Education" In another place he asserts that
"education refers to the goal of life — whatever that goal
may be — the true end of teaching is one with the true end
of life — according to our conception of the meaning of
life will be our conception of the meaning of education —
if we feel that complete life must include not only man's

■^G. K. Betts, The Ne.. Program of Religious Education, P. 40
What is Christian Education, G. A, Coe. P. 296

relation to l:iis fellowmen but also fellowship with God,
then we must provide for the development of this as we
would for the social nature to develop — this is the task of
religious education . "-^^

Nicholas Murray Butler gives a little different
angle to the situation when he expresses it as a phcise of
education whf.reby the religious heritage is passed on to a
person and without which he can not be said to be completely
educated.-^^-

These and many other examples all tend to the
same conclusion and seem to be aptly summed up in the Vi'ords
of a well iOioT.Ti English bishop who said that "while theology
is a science and can be ai-gued, religion is a life and can
only be lived."

It is tliis idea that differentiates religious
teaching from "moral" or "ethical" instruction — as if it
were the dynjonic which gives pov^er and appeal to the
teachings of moral and ethical value.

Mathew Arnold has said that religion is "morality
lit up with emotion," Expanding that thought re might say
that any teachings which seek to motivate what are generally
recognized as moral values, by furnishing an emotional
drive that will be strong enough to translate the moral

* G. A. Coe, "Education in Religion and Morals, P. 1
N. M. Butler, "The Meaning of Education P. 177-200

knowledge into action, may be said to be religious teaching

The idea of emotion here seems to be that of
"feeling" — tioat is a dynamic that has passed beyond the
bounds of reason or thinking and whose motive pov/er comes
from a faith in and desire to work in iiarmony with a Some-
tliing Beyond Onete Self (whether we call that Power, God,
Father, Supreme Being, or eveii Universal Force, does not
alter the essential nature of the feeling) which irapells
us to bring our conduct in line with the moral values that
our group recognises as vital to its welfare.

-10-

Chapter Four
Understanding Our Terms: Social and Civic Conduct

Probably just as difficult to define in a specific
way, is the other factor in our problem — if asked to give
specific qualities, few people would agree on just vfhat con-
stituted good social and civic conduct. Opinions would run
the \vhole gamut from those who hold absolute and un-
swerving obedience to law as the final criterion of good con-
duct, to those who feel that he who acts in accordance with
what seems to him, after intelligent consideration, to be
for the best good of his fellovraien, should receive the
higher commendation.

There is undoubtedly one definition of this
elusive factor to which everyone would subscribe: good
social and civic conduct is that action which would enable
people to live together in harmony, carrying on tliat our-
posef^ol, co-orful and intelligent activity by which
everyone, thinking of the welfare of the group, would find
their greatest happiness and possibilities for greatest
individual development through doing such things as would
make for the happiness of the gToup.

But, like all such definitions this one is of
very little real value for, dealing in glittering generalities
as it does, it does not help us to know what we can specifi-
cally do to achieve 'these much to be desired results.

Is not that our keynote in attempting to arrive
at a definition of what constitutes good social and civic
conduct — what specific things does it involve? Vvith this
idea in mind let us examine a few of the many attempts to
define this characteristic and measuring them ag' inst the
criterion of specificness see if we can not secure a workable
definition, which will give us in definite terms a picture
of just Y;hat this thing is.

Some people feel that one of the best ways to
arrive at an obscure and hard-to-def ine meaning is by the
process of elira nation — tell what it is not and you will
find what it is. While this method does not always work,
but frequently ends in a vagueness as disappointing as the
first stage of questioning, yet it is helpful in a measure.
One such definition of good civic conduct is built up in
just this way.

One author questions the much lauded civic virtue
of patriotism — v/hich many people have felt was one very im-
portant phase of good conduct, civically speaking. His
feeling is that patriotism does not necessarily connote
good conduct — that a person may have a great love for his
CAjjitTy (which is the usual definition of patriotism) and
yet engage in many practices which are distinctly not for
the good of the countiy. His implication is that love it-
self is not enough- Just as a Mother, though she may love
her child above all else, might through ignorance, give it a
medicine that was harmf-'ol, so patriotism, unless it is an

intelligent love may do much damao-e instead of being a
helpful factor in group life.*

That oatriotism as it is taught today in all too
many instances is producing this damaging effect is obvious.
In a world which has become so interdependent that the Viel-
fare of one section depends on the welfare of another, it
seems the height of stupidity to perpetrate the idea that
love of 3'our own country means hate of every other country,
yet that is exactly what much of the teaching does, "'"t says
in effect "you must realize your country,- is the best, the
most wonderful in all the world; no other country is to be
compared with her. She must have the best of everytliing,
even ii it must be taken away from others to give it to
her . "

The fact that this old v'ay of teaciiing is being
quest j-oned is a hopeful sigrn for it will lead inevibibly to
a saner, more v;orthwiiile procediare. Until this new way
has become more universal, however, we can not say that
this quality wiiich we call patriotism leaas to better social
conduct. If we co Id change our definition and insist that
patriotism means an intelli:- eat love of countr ■ , then the
entire picture is altered — we would h^'Ve then a factor which
should be a decided aid in promoting good social conduct.

I. V/. ^owerth, Teaching of Patriotism Educational Reviev/,
May, 1924

George A. Coe, in an art_cle in the Teachers
College Record brings out the fact that we must not in our
enthusiasm for "intelligent" patriotism, go to the opposite
extreme and assume that loiowledge alone will ins'ore good con-
duct— v.e need both the intelli,:ent thinking and the quick
conscience that will impell us to do -..hat we laiow is for the
greatest good of everyone concerned. He goes so far as to
say that "the aealth of popular governnent depends u on the
conscience as well as the intelligence of citizens, and that
state schools exist for the purpose of maintaining the
ethical as ..eil as the intellectual conditions of good
citizenship^is a major premise in practically all American
thinking upon education. "->

Enlightened patriotism and an alert public con-
science while undoubtedly two very important elements in
this thing we are trying to define, still do not bring us to
grips with tliis problem. We need to know much more siDecif ic.-'lly
what is expected of the individual.

. Snedden, in liis book, "Civic Education" accomplishes
this in a measure. In an attempt to define rrhat civic edu-
cation is he gives us a clue as to v/hat constitutes good
social and civic conduct — for, us he brings out, the goal of

■5^ G. A. Coe, Teachers College Record, Volume XXIII,
September, 1;;'22, No. 4.

civic education is to produce Just this quality.

iie feels that this problem has to do largely with
"political and other large group membershios, including com-
pliance v.ith la?/s of s'oate, municipality, etc. These may be
classified as follo7;s:

a. The promotion of the appreciations, ideals, atti-
tudes and minor amounts of imderstanding necessary to procure
conformity to j.eral and other directions and restraints,
such conf'ormit - being always measured in Lerms of specific
forms of social activity, such as honesty in property rela-
tionships, obedience to traffic laws, etc.

b. Promotion of the r^inds and degrees of devotion to
country, city, town, and other political groupings as col-
lective social entities with a view to insuring the welfare
of the commonwealth and the community. One species of these
types of devotion can well be called patriotism, but there
are othe: s which can easily be distinguished.

c. Training in dispositions and abilities to partici-
pate actively in parties, volunteer service, and other ac-
tivities of a positive nature designed to promote the public
welfare .

d. Training in dispositions to advance the state
directly by good service in family, vocational, religious,
and other non-political social groupings."*

David Snedden, Civic Ed ucation, P. 52

-15-

These seem to indicate specific ways in ipliich ',ve
can accomplish what we liave previously said was the basic
critsrion for measuring good social and civic conduct: the
knowledge of ^hat is best to do and the will to do it.

Cubberly also stresses forcibly the need of
knowing just what particiolar tilings we can give to our
child '-en as guides which ViiH aid them to acquire tliis
l-cnowledge of what is "good conduct." "The training of the
youth of the nation to have the attitudes and responses
that vre want them to huve, must be very largely by training
than in a large number of specific little things which lead
in tlie direction in which we -.vcint thCTi to go and think. If
we want to train our young people to express in their lives
a high type of national character, if we vfc;a:t to teach the
hopes and ideals and aspirations and attitudes timt we would
liice our iiat-on to r_ive expressi-on to, must do it by
careful teaching of those tilings to uiie children in the
schools c.nd b means of the teacl^ing of a large number of
small and yet Very specific things.

He suggests the following specific ways in which
we might gain tiiis result: 1. Americanize our diverse
peoples, v?ho are ainon£ us but iioTof us. 2. T^e ^lave
^phasized .olitical iiidividufillsra too much by teaciiing young
people about their rights tind liberties. We need to change
the pcint of emphasis cjad t ach young people instead abo^^t

their duties aiid obligations. 3. rational self control —
which is the mark of a good and intelligent citizen, should
be taught. 4. loyalty — a critical loyalty, that sees the
wrong and loves the thing while hating the Vi?rong. Stand for
the ideals beiiind the institution, not the institution.*

Ilin, in his "Nev.' Russian i^riraer", a book de-
signed to - ive school children in J^ussia a simple explanation
of the objectives of the five-year plan, and how they can
help bring it to pass, gives tiiis Sfune idea in an even
greater degree. He describes to the children certain
definite tasks which they can do which constitute good
social conduct; such things as planting ten trees every five
years, keeping the parks and playgrounds free from nibbish,
planting gardens — all of which suggest the idea of working for
the rood of the group.

This same idea has been carried out in a series of
charts and scales for measuring habits of good citizenship
which were developed for use in the Horace Mann School and
have since been used vjith much success in other schools.
These scales are based on the iame principle as the -^yres
Spelling list — they show the v/eak points, and so they can
conceixtrate on correcting their particular wealoiess. They

E. i'. (lubberly, "Some Larger ^i-spects of the Problem of
Citizenship Training. Teacher's College Record, ^ol. 23
P. 101-108, March 1922

work on the theory that if ciiildren only knev/ just what
specific qualities they were lacking, they could more easily
remedy the shortage. One chart includes one hundred and
eighty seven items and attempts "an analysis of conduct in
terms of the concrete and specific habits and attitudes T^hich
saould ciiaracterize a child mio is tailing part as a good
citizen in iiis elementar^y-" school democracy." Such traits as
cooperat-on, initiative, straightforwardness, orderliness,
etc., are included.

The implications of these tests are that they
present in miniature those desirable qualities which v/e nave
suggested above and so -ive the ch^ld a right start in
developing them in preparation for talcing his part as an
adult member of his group.

It was interesting to note that these cliarts were
used as a basis for Civics courses in the Junior ^^igh School
the question being raised as to why these particular traits
should be included as part of the equipment of a good citizen

While these various illustrations help to give us
a more concrete picture of this thing v/e call good conduct,
there is one very vital element, it seems, which while it is
implied, is not stressed as much as it well might be. One

^hassell, Oiara ^ . , Upton, Siegfried Maia, and Chassell,
Short Scales for iviea uring Habits of Good Oi-tizensliip.
Teacher's College Record, VqI. 25: P. 52-79 January 1922

great essential in good social and civic conduct, a£ Gambrill
1:^ expressed it is "a ccientific attitude in the field of
social and political problems as well as in the realm of
nature." He feels that we should seek to substitute for
pride of opinion, pride in keeping the mind open, willingness
to investigate, to collect evidence, to weigh and to judge,
"■'"t should seek to arouse and stiraulatf curiosity and a
questioning interest, instead of instilling conventional
doctrine a-nd discoura.- ing inquiry, ^t should seek to guard
against the impulses of instinct and emotion, and encourage
rational thought and behavior." *

In other words \:e should recognise the fact that
there is always room for improvement and unless we have a
sense of discontent with things as they are, we will never ad-
vance beyond the p. int where ve noWa.re. Changing conditions
bring new needs and unless we discard our ever-present
tendency to cling to ideas and institutions wiiich hs.ve lost
their usefulness, we can not be said to be displaying the
more elemental characteristics of good civic and social
conduct.

The amount of illustrations explaining just what
this hard to define factor is are almost as limitless as the
proverbial sands of ths- sea, but out of all the rather

*J. LI. GAmbrill, "Nationalism and Civic Education. Teachers
College Record, Vol. 23; P. 109-lEO. March 1922.

puzzling, sometimes vague, sometimes specific, qualities which
it is believed go to mai^e up this thing, there emerges tv/o
underlying ideas which seem to be characteristic of all of
them: 1. it is that course of action which enables people
to live together harmoniously in a constantly enlarging
group relationship. 2. it is a type of conduct which v/ill
adapt itself to the constantly changing conditions of the
world to the end that a more perfect v/ay of living may be
achieved than is nov,' possible.

Now that we have arrived at a more, if not an
entirely, satisfactory "common ground" and understand our
terms more clearly, we can, in the light of these meanings,
restate cur problem and make an attempt to solve it. "Is
there anything in this sense of "co-working with '-'od", which
is the essense of tliis religious teaching, which would so
motivate a person's conduct that it vdll compell hLm to make
better social and civic reactions than he is now making." In
other words, "^s religious teac ing the most powerful dynamic
to right living together" that v/e can find?

BOOK T \i 0

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL VIEVtPOINT

-20-

Chapter Five
What Psychologists Say.

Man is incurably religious i how ol'ten we liear
this statement. Has it any psychological foundation cr is
it anotner popular fancy that has no bearing- in fact? is
religion an instinctive thing, inherent and still vital to
man' nature, or is it something acquired during the
civilisine virocess which is not now er&en'oid for his
welfare?

Many ])sychologists now hold the theory that there
are only two or tliree instincts in human beings, and all
other acts, though they seem to be performed with no
thought, so that we loosely say we do them instinctively,
are really eji outgrowth of these primary instincts, caused
by vrhnt is known as the "conditioned reflex."

The orocess of conditioning, according to Freeman,
is looked uoon by seme . sychologists and educators as the
sole and sufficient means by which the conduct of a child
may be modified and directed.-^-

Briefly it raeejis that since a child vrill strive
to do that v;hich irives him plea.=^ure and reject that which
brings discomfort, if v;e can link u.- nev-- courses of
actions with wnich he is likely to come into contact often,

Peligion and Conduct, A Report of a Conference held at
Northwestern University, November 15 and 16, 1929, ?. 28

with either of those feelings, we can either inhibit or
promote them as re will.

So, from the stand oint of its etfect on conduct,
it matters little whether a thin^- be innate or not — there
are obviously many powerful motives to action that have
been acquired and are as strong as the instinctive drives
to action.

The real basis for this aspcrtion th^; t man is in-
curably religious woulc seem to lie in the fact that there
is something in the conceptions found in religion that tend
to adjust man cetter to the \7orld in which he finds himself.

These instinctive reactions and conditioned re-
flexes do not account for all the responses a child makes —
these two surely mechanical things are siiff icient for the
lower animals, but they do not provide satisfactory ex-
plajiations of the many and varied reactions made by people
to tiieir environment. Human behavior and the structure of
the nervous system, both testify to the important role of
ideas in guiding human conauct. It is this factor that
lifts the desired satisfactions out of the merely physical.
Though a person tends to make those responses vrhich will
afford .h^T-sical satisfaction, yet there is l-Jlso a satis-
faction that is apparently more desirable, since they will
choose physical dissatisfaction in order to attain it.

If this be true, that r-ligion is ^ne of the

ideas that man has evolved as an aid to adjusting himself
to xiis environment, then v:e sho'old be able to count upon it
to furnish sufficient motivation for the type of conduct
we wish to produce — for social and civic conduct, as v/e have
implied, means more harmonious adju&traent of everyone to
the Forld in which they live.

Have psychologists any evidence thet religion
could do such a thing? -"-f Ur. i'reeman be right (and he has
amply substantiated his belief) that "ideas are the crucial
factor in h-aman motivation"" then it v.'ould logicaj_ly follow
that our conduct will in the end be determined by our con-
ception of the universe in which we find ourselves.

Dr. '■'■'ittle, spea-ing at the Conference on
"Religion and Conduct" held at Northv/estern University, in
November, 1929, sei-.es upon this point made by Dr. i'Veemen,
to show hov; this very f ..ct is the cause of the influence that
religion has bad- -if . t •/'ere not for the conception and
ideas given to us by religion it would be difficult to
imagine more than a few courageous Joseph Conrads and
Bertrand Russels, who, in the face of dispair, would hold
fast to hat they felt Vvas best. As Doctor Tittle so

vividly expresses it, "i'ou begin with the assumption that 'all

■'^■Freeman, Religion and Conduct, E. 53
^'r ^/ric Tittle, " " " P. 40

the labors cf the ares, ell the devotion, all the inspiration,
all the noonday brighuness of hiimaii genius are destined to
extinction in the vast death of the solar system' j you end
with the assumption that on a 'microscopic dot' cf the solar
system 'tiny lum::E cf impure carbon and v;ater of complicated
structure, with somewhat unusual physical and chemical
properties ,cfl»av.'l .^bcut for a few years until they are dis-
solved again in the elements cf which they are compounded. '
And then what? "^n the assumption that man is a spiritual
being there is nothing in the way of fine conduct which
you may not reasonably expect of him. But v/hat may j'-ou
reasonably exDect of him on the assumption that he is
nothing more than a 'tiny lump of impure carbon and water'?"
"Persuade us that we are sometiiing," he goes on to say, "and
we will undertake to do soniethinp v.'orthwhile in the world,"
He questions if anytliir.g less radical and creative than
religious faith will prove adequate to effect those changes
in conduct which simply must be brought about if ever v«e
are to I'^ave a better world

Cannot these SE-me results be attained through
moral or ethical teacciings, many ask? There is little
evidence to show tijfit for the great mass of the people

^ Religion and Conduct, ?. 40

-24-

Tnls would v.ori:. have c id that Matthew Arnold defined
religion as "morality -Lit up by emotion" — this may be the
reason tiiat it succeeds vfhere other tilings fail, since, as
Dr. Freeman pcints out, idear coupled with emotions form
tv.c cf the raost powerful driving forces v:e laiovv of.

^oe feels as does ^'reeman, that religion, rightly
conceived, acts as a tremendous dynamic to make men act more
socially minded. One reason. Freeman feels, tht.t so much
anti-social condioct is present today, thour;h religion is
active is that the old theological and doctrinal inter-
pretations have been rf tained vrhen they v:ere no longer of
any value and hence have hindered rather than hel{)ed in
changing conduct. People have been so busy vvith their
petty theolorical arguements that they htive lost sirht of
the compelling pov/^:r of the great religious ideal of a
"s'-.iritual man with a spiritual destiny."

Eliv;ood affirms that from the standpoint of a
social psychologist, "one of the greatest social needs of
the present is a religion adapted to the requirements of
our modern life and in harmony v;ith modern science."'"" He
mentions a conversation with G. Lawes ^ickerson, in which
the latter echoed his feeling that the world needs more
religion — of the right sort. "Of religion of a certain sort
there is plenty but not enough of the right sort", is his
conviction. His implication v/as that, y.ist as Freecan
pointed out, people need to pay more attention to religion

^C. A. E^lwood, Introduction to Social x^svcholopv P

275

and lees to theological abstractions.

Ty70 emenent British sociologists, -^llvfood tells
us, iiave voiced the Sojne feeling as he expressed, in saving
"V,e are compelled to the admission (one hard for the student,
the r-an of yure or applied science) tliat the essential prob-
lem of life is r;ot material but psychxiai. In short life
needs to be enpsychic, or in other words, religious.

Probably one of the most interesting periods to
psychologists interested in the problem of "adjustment" is
the time of adolescence, for^t is then ohat the child has
to make ids great adjusunents — Dhe time when he vfill be
formulating his oxm ideas and interpretations of liis ex-
t)eriences, which vdll inevitab:.y influence liis res cnses to
a great degree, "ave psychologists been t.ble to tine, cut
whether or not religion played any part in this period in
helping children raalre the meny and difficult adjustments
necess&ry?

Fov/ler ^. Broo:':s of John HopKins University, dis-
cussing the psychology of adolescence, brings out the fact
that up to this period (i.e. adolescence^ tiie ciiild is more
ai^t to accept unquestionably whatever religioLis beliefs are
told im, but at this time, in common v.dth all the other
tilings he has been taught, his religious beliefs undergo

C. A. Ellwood "The Reconstruction of Religion" Pa. VII

careful scrutiny. He tends tc test tir-ongs by his experiences
they are real to liim and he feels confident of them; there-
fore if -.ny of ids teach nj'S have been formal and doctrinal
and do net square up with hxs experiences there is bouna to
be a conflict between them. He cannot discard Ms ex-
periences for he l-:nov:s them to be £are and so he finds him-
self in a mcst p^rpxexing situation. It is unfortunate
that religion has too often lost its appeal and value to a
child at this time because it v='as pres.nted in a "theological
rather than a tr ly religious way.

It is at this period that the elements of worship
seem to me-ke their strongest appeal and, if wisely guided,
have great influence in shaping the child's conduct. The
emotional life developes so strongly at this oeriod that
it seems to lir.d in religion a great appeal; i-clig-^on at
this time seems to acquire a more personal tinge.

The effect of religion on the adolescent boy or
girl is well summed up by Brooks' comment: "^^nder favorable
conditions, religion occupies a very important place in the
life of the maturing boy or girl. It satisfies liis groping
for a fundamental, s\Tithesi?ed understanding of the whole
reaLT. of experie|ice. ■'•t g:.ves him a sense of values, a sense
of personal relations liips and obiigat-ons. It facilitates

the formation of high ideals of unselfish service, "''t

1 — .

^- F. D. Brooks, The Psychology of -n-dolesceuf e Giaapter XI

-27-

gives him help in attaining that self -control and self-
discipline V' nich characterise strong personality. It reen-
forces hiqfnoral character. It aids him m resolving many
conflicts of impulses and desires, and thus assists him in
attaining sound mental health. Praise, prayer, and other
elements of v/orsiiip may enrich and deepen his life, and add
miicli to its wholesomeness and happiness. Religion in
reality involves personal devotion to a Supreme Being, and
can provide a unifying force for all that is highest and
best in the youth's nature.

It is not alone in adolescence that religion,
according to psychologists, can play an important part, but
it is also a vital factor in adulthood.

Probably one reagon v/hy this need is so felt today
is because of the fact that v/e have advanced at such a
tremendously rapid rate scientifically, thiit we are rath r
bewildered by the mass of inventions that surround us — it
has put our world out of joint as it v/ere and we have not
yet been able to adjust our thiriking to the new situation.
During the latter part of the nineteenth century science took
such tremendous strides, that oeople in their admiration al-
most T^/orsiiip ed it — it sat in the saddle, so to speak and
everything else had to give v/ay to it.

f. D. Brooks, Thg^ Psychology of ^--dolescence ^ . 341-34<;

-28-

Tcday many educators are questioning the wisdom of this • r.o
suggesting tliat it would be well if science would call a halt
so that the rest of our living mif ht "catch up" as it vfere,
with its enormous advance. One very baa result of tliis lack of
adjustment is that it does not make for harmonious living — we
seem to be so constituted that in order to fiincticn amootlily we
need a sense of i^ity and completeness in our life, or we feel
at a loss. This need has been well expressed by Frederick
Harrison when he wrote "Y^e have a rich harvest of science, a
profusion of material facilities, a vast collection of the
ideas and products of past ages ... we need only harmon,
and union; v.e need only to group into a v/hole these pov/ers and
gifts; the task before us is to discover some complete and
balanced system of life, some common basis of belief; some
object for the imperishable relig-ous instii-cts and aspirations
of man^cind; some faith to bind the existance of man to the
vast universe arouna him; some common social bond for thought
action and feeling.

It is just such a unifying force \/nich religion
contributfs , as Brooks has suggested, and because of this
unique power it is a factor whose importance at this particular
time is almost incalculable.

-^"Frederic ^arrison, The lYieaning of History, i:'. 75

Psychology then, seems to offer abundant evidence
that in religious teaching, vre have a tremendous motivating
power, which, rightly directed, can do much to insure ths.t
social and civic conduct which v?e need so badly.

The fact that it has failed so often due to lack
of appreciation of its real significance, and lack of under-
standing of hov; to make use of it, does not minimize the tre-
mendous help which, rightly utilized, it may be to us.

BOOK THREa

SURVEYS OF AGENCIES GIVING RELIGIOUS TEACHING.

-50-
Chapter Six
Purpose of the Survey

That in religious teaching as defined by the
psychologists there is tremendous motivating pcv/er for con-
trolling conduct, is evident, yet, though this be time, our
problem is not entirely solved. Unless this type of religious
teacliing ceji be translated into an actuality by being embodied
in a curriculum, we have gone only i^axt way along the road.
To have a theory, however sound, that a certain conception will
bring desired results, is not enough, for unless v/e taow v/hat
means to use to get this idea across, it can not function.

Are there such means as will serve to reveal the
concept that "man is a spiritual being with a spiritual
destiny"? It v/oald seem then, as if our next step would be to
examine the teachings of the agencies who are professedly
giving relVious teaching and see if in tne programs they offer
there is anything that would give this concept, or any other
concept that has proved compelling in regulating conduct.

-51-

Chapter Seven
The Church

V*e look first to the church as tne nlace for
children to receive religious teaciiings, anu it ifc entirely
natural thct we should do so, for for centuries the church has
occupied tliis role, '^hvt it has been avvare of the need of this
teaching, if it \70uld carry on its work is evident. -H-n in-
teresting illustration of this is seen in the tablet to be
seen on the gateposts of one of tlie Harvard University
buildings, which states that the University vras founded in
order to insure to the churches an educated ministry, with-
out wiJ-ch they could not ho e to endure.

It seems a curious paradox that, realizing how
great the need of teaching- is, the church has been so slow to
sponsor forcefully an ef i cc '.ive teacliing program for all its
followers. She has in nost cases, insisted on a well trained
ministry, and her requirements for that phase of her vork
have been rigid, but she has allowed one of the most vital
phases of her task to be carried on by lay peop-Le, often with
no training whatsoever, and whose on-.y qualif icetion for tiiis
supreme task was a desire to pass on to the children a love
for the cborch — an essential qualification to be sure, but
certairJ.y pitifully inadequate.

However, of late years, the church seems to be

-52-

wai'.ing to the need of a great and fundsjnental change in her
former attitude; religious education is becoming the dcminent
thing in her thoughte and she is planning a program that is
becoming more worthwhile and effective.

Let us examine recent activities in this field
and see if we can find there any indication that the
teacriing that is being carried on under her direction contains
those elements which will lead to better conduct.

This is not as simple a matter as first thought
might indicate, for in the past generation, as has been
pointed out, the church has increased greatly her activities.
Where formerly the work was limited to an hour of instruction
on Simday, when the so-called "Sunday School" or "Bible
School" met, it nov/ ii.cludes not only the '^•onday Church
School" but weekday schools of religion j daily vacation
schools; summer camps and conferences; all working toward the
^oal of developing, tlirough religious teaching, better
attitudes .

In the majority of the churches, however, • we
would find that the only organized work was carried on tiirough
the Sunday Church School, and so an ejialysis of the material
taken up here wo O-d give us a fairly reliable i- dication cf
the scope of the religious teacli:-r.g received.

-55-

?ve, as teachers, ere inclined to be a little
sceptical aoout curricula and courses of study; too often have
we seen what looked to be a fascinating and worthwhile bit of
material in the form of a curriculum, which, v/hen carried into
the schoolroom did not function any more adequately than the
one upon which it v/as supposed to be an improvement. So v.-e
would not feel that an examination of curricula would be in
any sense a final basis on which to pass judgment of the value
of the subsequent teacliing, but nevertheless it would in-
dicate whether there v. as 8jny real religious teaching possible,
if orily in a negative way — that is if there was nothing in the
cirriculum except formal, dogmatic, catachismic, material, we
would not expect it to have much effect on the child, in the
way of improved responses.

For tiiis examination I have selected the curricula
used by the Jevrish, Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist and
Unitarian churches, as they represent five distinct types of
religious thinking, with some one of which the great majority
of our peop-.e are in sympathy.

This does not mean, of course, that the majority
of our people are actively interested in one cf the tjnpes — on
the contrary it is a sad cormneiitarj'- on the effectiveness of
these teachings that f.even cut of ten voimF people, under
twenty-five years of age are not t uched in any way by the

/

-54-

teach ngs cf any church."^

Ls a ros^"!"*" their st--'dy ' f chi -.-i needs, '^'".^
Jewish C'-.a- tauqua Society has "itlined the following c^^r-
riculom for the religious education of J elvish children.-?-''^

Curricvlum of Religious Education f '^r Jervish
Children; Prlnisr:/ through Senior An:e

Primary: Stories of Creation and Early history —
thrci^gh Abraham

Stories, of Jacob and Jose'^h, Moses; Esther
;rayers, psalms s d comraanduients taught

Intermediale: ^essf"'ns in Biblical Hist'r>' — from
looses through entrance to Pr^^'inised
Land

From De' orah through oolomon

Junior: The Hebrew Prophets

Senior: The oe'M.sh Religion

Jewish Ethics (home duties, school, com
munal duties, religious duties)

Curricula for Roman Catholic Church Sch'-ols

The educatio-^.el program of the Roman Catholic
Church includes two series "f readers, and a series cf
catechisms, adapted far Primary through Senior age groups,
rbe one called "Catholic Edncation Spries" is used primarily
in the Sunday Church school, and the "Standard Catholic
Readers by Grades" in the daily parochial sch ol.

. f . Atheern, Characjter Building In a Democracy, - . ?G
Henry Berkowitz, The New Education in Religion

-35-

Catholic Education Series^

First Book: Ne'.; lestament stories, designed to shew
the dependence of the child on God's
loving care

Second Book: Aims t-' show thr ough examples from Bible
and church history thct there is an all-
prevading" law God, which we shonJd
ob^y .

Third Book: Devoted wholly to the \7ork of Redemption
as foreshadowed in the Old Testament and
embodied in the New. Aims to show child
that solvation ma.;^- be f und through
obedience to God and legitimately con-
stituted authority. A third reader of
h^rn stories is used with it.

Fourth Boo. : Cea^E with the Mass and its surroundings
for "it is here thct the child T'/ill find
the great central source nf grace which
will enable him to live -/orthily in the
kin.^dom of God on earth. In the fourth
reader 7/hich accompanies it the child
v;ill learn some of the great work whir'
the church has acc^n^ lished amo'^<^ r:^on

"The Standard Catholic Ref^dor by Grades" is an
"eight book series" of readers for the first to the eis'hth
grades. Stori-^s svch as - cu would find in man7/' school
readers are included, and there are many stories about
saints and martyrs of the Christian Church and illustra-
tions of greet paintings of Biblic? 1 scenes.

The Department of Religious Education -'f the
National Council of the i'rot^sta'^t E^iscoral Church has

wor^:ed 'ut a program of roligious educsticn f r their

chxirch schools, called the "Christian i^urture Series."
Christian ^'urture Series

Kindergarten: Age

a. The Fatherhood of God 4

b. Our Father's Gifts 5

First Primaiy:

1. Trust in God (creed and 6
Lord's Prayer;

2. Obeaience to God 7
( commandments )

Second Frimai^' :

3. God with Man — Sacraments 8

4. God's Great Fainil^' —

The Church's Mission 9

Grammar:

5. The Christian Seasons 10

6. Churc'.; Worship and

ilembersiiip il

Junior High:

7. The Life of Our Lord 12

6. The Long Life of the Ch urch 15

9. Our Churc'n and **jr Mission 14

Senior High:

(Any of tr.e following texts regardless
of order are suitable for the high
school age)

Winning the Rorid for Christ

Our Bible

The Bible in Outline

The Work of the Holy Spirit in t le Church

T'le Creed and Christian Conviction

The Church and the Co-muunity

Jesus: Then and Now (in preparation)

The uiethodist Church, ti-rough its Department

-57-

of Helitjioas Education works in close coop;;ratLon v/ith the
International Council of Religious Education, an organization
which serves as a cooperating force for most of the
Protestant denominations, aiming to provide through joint
effort, a more effective prograa of religious education for
all churches. The vrork of this organization will be dis-
cussed in detail later. The following series, therefore,
is not limited to the deriominational use ox the idethodist
church schools.

GUiiDSD liNTSrUUTIOKAL SERIES

Beginners ^4 and 5 years of age)

The Little Child and t ^eavenly Father

Primary :

Age: 6: God's Friendly 7/orld

7: Wor^iing with the Heavenly Father

3; Learning to -^ive as God's Children

Junior:

9: At V»ork in God's 'r.'orld

10: iiero Stories aiid Being Heroic

11: Jesus and ills Helpers

Intermediate:

12: Religion in Ev^ryda^ ^Ife UVhat is good

Sportsmanship, )
13: The *^aJr;ing of a Better Viorld
14: T :e -"ife and Teachings of <jesus

Senior: (15 to 18 years; any order;

Chrintia.1 Leaders — Practicing Christian

Democracy
Youth and Claris tian Living
Problems caid Principles of Social Living

-33-

The Unitarian denomination, through its
denominational press, The Beacon -^ress, has issued a
most interesting course of stuc^, icuovrn as the "Beacon
Course in Religious Education."

The Beacon Coarse in Religious Education
Beginners:

Age 4: The ■L<ittle Child in Sunday School
5: A Friendly V.'orld

Primary ;

6: First Book of Religion

7: Living Together

8: Children of the Father

Junior:

9: ^od's Wonder 'iVorld
10; The Bible ana Bible Country
11: Heroic Lives

Intermediate*

12: From Lesert to Teraple

13: The Stor;^^ of Jesus

14: Peter, Pa^ii, and Their Friends

Senior:

15: Our Part in the World

16: Taii^s to -^oung People on Etaics

advanced: (eighteen years a^id older j

Tlie Unv/rougat ■'-ron: An -introduction to

Religion
The Story of t e I'lew Testament
A Stud^' of the Christian Sects
The Origin and Character of the Bible
Evolut-on and Religion

It is, of course, impossible to come to any

conclusion as to the value of a curriculum from merely

-59-

reading the naxaes of the various co-.rses of stady which it i
includes, but in many of the foregoing cases tne titles are
sufficiently discriptive of the luaterial thi^ ta^^e up to be
a fairly good index of what tlie courses are ±ike. Hov/ever,
further investigation is necessary to fina out iuore accurate-
ly just what values they contain.

Upon furtlier examining this material we find thi^t
they ail start with the same theme — "tne ?/oria is an ex-
pression of God's love." The. cliild is to think of liim as a
loving Father. From t.Ss point they v!xry , altaough t-.ey
have many elements in coiranon, aome curricula seem to stress
one factor more than another. The dominent note of the
Jewish curriculum seems to be a thorough Jtoiowledge of t.ie
Biblej the Ca-.holic and Episc^)pal ones, an explanation and
interpretation of the church history, the meaning of the
service axid the church calanaar; the International Graaed
anci Beacon Curricula sound constantly the note of working
with God to maice a be ter ftorld, dwellingjiiiore on modern
social problems than un history.

The Bible is unquestionably the ,orid' s supreme
textbook for religious thinking and living, and more than jinv
otner one book, contains inspira:.ion-il matei-ial v,'hich will
motivate the knowledge it conveys; the long history of the
church contains priceless lessons of neroism aiia devotion

-40-

to the ideals h^-ch woold make a child appreciate raore
the value of tae church of today; the challenge of woriciag
with God in solving the probleias of today so tiiat re may
have a better i7orld, has an ap :eal "hose strength ve can
not overestLnate; these three o;itstandi::g emphases in the
above curricula would, therefore, lead to the conclusion that
as far as subject uatte went, :he church as a v/hole has
struck the right things.

It is questionable, he -ever, whetner tnese three
are not essential together, that separately and alone,
none of them could be sufficiently compelling to res.ilt in
the type of conduct v/e wish, Y/ould it not be ideal if these
coula be so combined .^n each curricxilum that the joxnt pov?er
of them all co la be fally realized. However, even as they
stand they are factors strong enough to make us feel en-
couraged .

But, even if Y;e find that the church has apparent-
ly found out the secret of w'.at tilings to incorporate -Lnto
its teacings in order to mal.e them bear fruit in right livi^.g,
yet even then ive can not be sure that she is asing this
knowledge aright. How, then, is she using this material?

As has been pointed out, the Sunday church school
is the chief agent for carrying out these teachings. In
too many of our churches the values found in the curricuxa
above are lost because there is no adequate means of getting
them across to the children, it is difficult to adapt some
of the older church buildiiigs, designed chiefly for the
church service, so that it can accommodate a well org^rdzed

-41-

school; there is little monefy for equipment and supplies;
there is a lack of trained teachers who understand the child
and know how to present the material to him; there is so little
time — one short .our on Sunday is the average period; and
above ail there is so little cooperation on the part of the
houe, so that the child is irregular in attendance and in-
different to preparation of the Y^ork. One writer has well
faced the situation in saying:

"It takes not less than three recitation periods
a week for a trained teacher, v/ho can compel regular
attendance and outside study, to teach iiistory, iitejature,
mathematics, or any of the secular subjects of like diffi-
culty. The untrained Church School teacher has thirty
minutes, once a weeK, v»d.th students irregular in attendance
who liave not stadied the lesson, to teach religion — a subject
vastly more difficult tmrn any sec alar subject, -i-t is a
hopeless task I ' No v/oader th...t the graduates of our Sunday
Schools, after fif :ee;i years of attendance, know so little
about the Bible, ^^o wonder that, of ever;^^ four children
in the Sunday Schools of America at twelve years of age, three
will have left both the Sunday School and the Church forever,
by their eighteenth year." ^

But, while t .is situation is, unfortunately, too

--■C. C. i.eith. The Teaching idinistry of ti.e Church, Page 12

I

-42-

trae in many, probably the maTj'it^. of the churc .es, yet in
many others ao we find a much more encouraging situation,
if it be true as ^"lolmes tells us that "it matters not so muc h
where we stand as the direction in which we aremoving", then
tne outlook for religious teaching is not as black as it
would seem, for more and more are churches being built with
the idea of providing adeoiuate facilities for the church

school; more and more is tx'ained leadership being secured,
and parents are becoming aware of these improvements axid are
cooperating be ter.

in the Janueiry, 1931, number of the "■'•nternational
Journal of Religious Education" there is an in;.eresting
article dealing wita just such a neyj type of church — t'le
Riverside Church of New York City, which is designed so that
t-.e twenty -one sloiy tov.er houses the church school. Eveiy
facility that one finds in a well equipped educational
plant you will find here. Provision is laade for classes
from i^inderg^rten through ad:lt age groups. Wot only is
their equipment a vasL improveiuent., but more time is found
for teaching workj for example, the ^kindergarten meets from
nine thirty 'antil twelve thirty Sunday morning.^

But before the church began to ..ave tnese im-
provements in the Siinday Church School many leaders
realized the necessity of having more tj.me for religious tea.ching

c

-43-

if they ever v;ere to get anywhere vdth their program. As
far back as 1367 the "vacation school" idea was started in
Boston. It was designed first to take children in the crowded
sections of the city off the streets arid give them something
to do during the p;^blic school summer vacation.

About fourteen years ago, in Urbana, Illinois,
the American Institute of Religious Education was organized
to spread further the work of schools of this type and to
try to 'ave iiiore real teac dng ^iccomplished in them. Schools
sponsored by this Institute spread rapialy tiiToughout the
state. They ran from two to six weeKS ana were carried on
in the same v.'ay as public schools, v^ith trained teachers,
and differed only in the content of courses. They offered
courses in Biblical iiistory, geograpl'jy, hymnoloe;^, etc.
Children came to them in large numbers and, of coarse,
learned more in the few weeks than they could learn in the
average church school during the Vvhole vi'inter. It also .:Lad
the good result of gj.ving the cidld a liiora serious attitude
toward .J.s church school, and tended to raise t-ne stanaard
of teaching in it.

However, many parents object to their children
giving up their summer vacai.ions ^aa so another ty^e of
school is now being formed, particularly in the middle
western states — ..he v.eekday school of religion.

-44-

There are various waj'S in which this plaii is
carried out. '-'ne, imown as t -e "Gary i'lan", originated in
Gary, Indiana. Because of a rather unusual situation in the
jjubj-ic schools it was ^lossible for the churches to have
part of the school aay of the child. The school sched,ile
leaves the children v.-ith one or iuore free periods during
the day when he does not .lave to be at school but can return
to his lome if he wishes, ixs different groups have their
free periods r.t diff .rent l^ours, ihe churc -es have worked
out a program so that children may come to classes during
these periods each day. Thus one teacher, can tai<.e care of
several different groups at aifferent times ..ud so they iiave
a full time teacher, teac.ung just as the teacher does in
the pubxic schools. The cliilaren, of course, get lauch more
out of it aiid the parents feel it is iaore v'/orthwaile, so
they cooperate better, insuring a m.,re regular attendance.

Perhaps the beot arrangement of his sort v/as to
be found in tne religious education program in ivialden,
Massachusetts, which vvas a coimaunity scuool of religion
sponsored "by a community coLuaittee made up oi represexititive
from all tue Protestant C-iurCiies in i«iaj.den who l/ere v/ixling
to coope-ate to carry 11 on. The details of tnis plan ?all
be aiscussed in a later chapter Y;ith reference to the
relation t.^e public school to this iiev/ movement.

c

-45-

The '^ewish church has for a long time made use of
the week day school iuea. They have developed a system of
religious education which is just as ell administered as is
the public school ^stem — with the exce .tion that the at-
tendance is not compulsory'' it is very similar. There are
regular courses of study under tr:iined teac.iers in v.e.ul
equipped class rooms, and the children come after school
hoars as v/ell as on their Sabbeth.

-i-t is not strange taat the •'ewish people shouxd be
the ones to t:jie care .nost carefully of this part of their
religious life, f.^r the "Jewish race iias ever .lad a peculiar
genius for religious teac iiig, jast as the Romans have given
law aiid t":-e Cireeks philoso;_^hy , to the world, so nas the
Jevd-sh race contributed the great religious and spiritual
leaders to mankind. They liave guarded jealously their re-
ligious heritage ar.a passed it on to their children through
the medium jf religious teaching, -^n Temple -^srael ^n
Boston, one can find one of the finest pieces of religious
educational work being carried on that can be found anywhere.

Another very valuable agency which the church is
using for puri-oses of religious teaching in their -inter-
mediate and Senior a^e groups, is trie young people's
"institute" or conference. Tj'-pical examples of this activity
are fojind in the meetings at Starr Islana, ■'•sIgs of Shoais,
where the unitarian yoimg people have their conference;

G

-46-

lasell Seminary, Au"biirndale , Mass., where the J-»ew
England Conference Epv/orth League is held; liorthfield
llass., where the Christian Endeavor Society, gathers.
It is infinitely more thpji the nane implies--: t is
- time when they live, play, andstudy together and
especially have sJi opportunity to gain new ideas and
ideals and to express these ideals in some form of
service .

The program, usually consists of cla"?::^es in
the morning; (such subjects as Bible, iiyionology,
Hlssions, r^acial i^rejudices, leadership training
courses, preparing to teech in church school or to
lead young people's groups, are offered); an or-
ganized program of recreation in the afternoon; a
t- ■ " ight 'iiscussion hour when the group divides in-
to informal discussion groups to tal>- over personal
problems; an evening meeting when various fields of
"life service" are discussed by people vvho have entered
that field--one night a doctor, another a minister,
a newspaperman, a business man, etc., will tell the
opportunities for service in the field he has chosen.
The remainder of the evening is given over to enter-
tainment planned by the young people — a play or
pageant or party of some sort.

This program has been presented at some
length, because it seemsto illustrate eo well a vejry

-47-

iiaportant factor in religious teaching. The church
has certainly found here a powerful form of teaching —
it is prol^alJly no exagee^ation to say that for many
of the young people attending such conferences, more
real appreciations and wholesome attitudes are ac-
quired than in a whole year of ordinp.ry church school
work. The fact that for an entire week a group of
young people live together with the dominent note of
their meeting a desire to find out how they can fit
"better into life, makes at the very outlet, an ideal
situation. Anything learned is learned so intensely
that it tends to have a compelling force that will
carry it over into ration. With a sympathetic and
understanding faculty, the possibilities for guiding
and stimulating young people in this very impression-

a'ble age are very great. The fact that definite

to

avenues of service are opened to them give them an
outlet for the new ideals and loyalties they acquire
makes these teachings heaii^ruit in "better living.
Here, probably more than in eJiy other one place has
the religious teachirig follov;ed out the teachings of
psychology and done ^ust those things v/hich tend to
bring about the desired results.

Closely allied to the institutes are the
summer camps, maintained by various organizations

r

-48-

within the church, to which children may go for from
one to six weeks during the summer. injb,ddition to
the regulsr activities found at a cai::p, similar pro-
grams as are found in institutes are carried on, for
young people of high school age, while for younger
children it is adapted accordingly. It is the atti-
tude of "right living" that permeates such a place
that is prohalDly the most stimulating force in
creating nev/ ideals and responses.

v/hile it is true, as Kieth points out, that
three out of four children who are in the Sunday
School leave it forever after the age of twelve,
there is still a large numlter reached "by the church
even after they pass beyond the high school level.
The young people's conferences are undoubtedly aiding
this as they mal'ie their appeal to young people at
just the age when the Sunday Scriool often begins to
lose its hold on them.

For these young people who are still in-
terested in, and for all others still needing, re-
ligious teaching, the church in some places is able
to offer teaching on the college level, A complete
Sunda^y Church School will have classes for young
people and even adults, but outside of that there aEe

-49-

still opportunities v>'here tl.e church can and does
help. ■'-n this group would come the denominational
college, which in addition to giving liheral studies,
would incorporate in its curriculum many things valuable
as religious teaching. Many universities now iiave
Schools of Religious Education, whose purpose is to give
further religious teaching in order that is graduates
in turn may enter into the teaching ministry of the
church.

Throughout all her educational program the
church males use of a factor that d- serves more
recognition than is Qometi.'.es paid to it, since it is
an important influence in carrying out religious ideals.
Soneone has said "Let me v/rite the enngs of a nation
and I care not who 'lakes her laws." It is true that
music is a powerful medium, having the universal ap-
peal that it does. Unfortunately the church has not
always in the past used the "best type of music, to
inculcate those ideals of service which is the aim of
tr-j.e religion. But this s:">irit is rapidly coming in
and should do much to help. A typical example of the
new type is "The Kev/ Hymnal for Ai';erican Youth" edited
"by H. Augustine Smith, which while prenerving the "best
of the well known ehurch music, sounds also the note of
"service . "

For examples see Pp. 227,2?;9,S37 Also sections on *-orld
friendship, Pp . 2840297. aIso sections in hack of hymnals

r

c

-50-

Ghapter Eight
The Public School--. <hat is it Doing?

When from so many sides we hear the cry raised
that the Aneric-;n pub_ic school is "godless" and iias no
care for religion of any ]-:ind , it would seem as if it
was not a fertile field to explore for evidences of re-
ligious teaching. Such, however, does not seem to be
the case. Of course, one does not find, e.s in the old
days when it was the expres'i^ed purpose of the school to
give such instruction, courses labeled as having that
content and being for that purpose . Indeed the value
of such courses might v/ell be q_uestioned, even if it
were possible in this day and age to have them. It is
obviously imposable today in a country whose public
schools are open to everyone, to go as far in religious
teaching as tlie churcix can and must go, without being
extremely unfair to the beliefs of some of the people.
Yet it is eq.ually obvious that something is being done.

In some states the reading of a certain number
of verses from the Bible is req^uired at the opening of
school. Since in most places this can not be accompanied
by any interpretation and comment, it is felt that,
especially v/ith the younger children, it has little
meaning and conseq.uent ^y is not significant as a factor
in religious teaching. But vv'e know that hundreds of
teachers, through wise choice of reading have given

r

c

-51-

n&xiy children an appreciation of many of the great funda-
mental truths of the Bible.

The familiar words of the "Shepherd Psalm" mpy
fall without thought from the lips of the average person,
"but to a fev/ it v/ill he meaningful. In smaller tovms
where the children do not represent such a variety of
religious doctrines, a teacher can do a great deal in
making vivid to then the greatest stories of the Bible.

School subjects are so entangled with religious
history that it is very difficult to escape teaching it.
While facts r lone have little motivating power, yet
they, being the basis of the concepts that become com-
pelling forces, have an important place.

"The high school history course and especially
the ancient history course, should teach the reJigions
of the peoples studied. in the anc ' ent histor;> course
as developed in our high schools today v/e have an ex-
cellent opportunity to expose the young folks to the
religions of:

1.

Primitive man

2.

The

Indian

•

The

Chinese

4.

The

Egypt ia,ns

5.

The

Babylonians

6.

The

Persians

7 .

The

Greeks

8 .

The

Horn an s

V/e co^.ilc develop e in a beautiful way the
philosophy of Erahriann srn , Buddism, Judaism, Gon-
fusicinism and Christianity, and after we finish mar-
Boston University
School of Educatio^^
Library.

-52-

vel in the "beauty of these religions and he surprised
that after all they are fund araen tally tiie same.*

'An interesting exi^ernraent was cariied oul hy
a history teacher in a Jun or High School near Boston.
After a study in Ancient History, which included the
religions of th^ Tari ous peoples, whijh he tried to
present in such a v/ay ap to give the pupils an ides of
the good points of each religion involved, he asked
theiu to \:v^.-*:<^ ^ o-or-, tpllin? •.•rhr t the study of these
various reiie,ions had done for them. j-'hese papers were
to "be passed in without any identifying marks, so that
the;- could write Just how t!iey r'elt. Some of tlie papers
showed little thoi^ht, others very ofeviously said v/hat
they felt v/as expected, hut a fev/ gave indications that
their v/rnters had been gripped "by the idea of
"tolerai.ce" , i.e., they realized that there was something
to respect in thinking not thoir cvm.**

■.'/hi le it -i s true that the schools in the r:ain
give moral rather than religious training (the character
education programs so prevalent today would he of t.his
type) yet undouhtedly they are doing much in giving
something upon wliich the church can huild. Charters
echoes this same feeling in aaying :

-^A. J.i:urphy , "Teaching History- as a Social Study in the
Senior High Schoo; , Lester's the^-is, 1931, P. 30
Sarie. See Pp. 22-36 for examples

-53-

"As I understand its meaning, religious education
transcends moral education "but is based upon it.
Children may "be taught to he moral through the
use of either moral or religious sanctions.
Religious education relates morality to the con-
cept of Ood; Moral education hases liorality on
the concept of good, Both develop a moral
structure withsf.'the individual, l^ach is striving
for ends which have much in common. BotK seeli to
develop the virtuEs of goodness, unselfishness,
courage, and industry. Puhlic schools cj-id church
schools are cooperating agencies. .Whatever of
morals the public schools may develop is so much
gain for the chui'ch schools. The public schools,
therefore, may aid religious education by develop-
ing the basic virtues to the utmost t]:irough
industry and intellig-^nce . what they develop
rqligious ed'.'.cation does not need to repeat,
T;: the extent that they develop moral habits
and attitudes the task of inducing religious
experience will lie made easier. A moral man is
a betteijteub ject for religious experience than
a criminal."*

But while the public school can not do much

of the a,ctual teaching of religion herself, as has been

intimated, in some cases ."^he is cooperating with the

chuch. For example in some states, as in l:orth Bakota,

the state maJces out a syllabus in Biblical History, and

pupils who can pass an examination based on this course

can receive credit. So a church can offer such a course,

give as much interpretation as it feels it should, and,

since the pupil usually takes such work more seriously,

much can be accomplished.

6

*y/.w. Charters, "What the Public Schools Can and Cannot
Bo in lieligious Education" international Journal of
Religious Education, l^^overaber 1928, P. 10

r

-54-

Chapter Kine
The Private School--What is it Doing?

As v/e have seen, in spite of the
restrictions necessarily placed upon them "by virtue of
the fact that they must serve all the people without
favoring any one particular belief, the public school
does directly and indirectly give religious teaching
and aid the church to give it. liow much more then should
the private school be able to do, since, in many cases,
it does not have this same problcL. to contend with.
Also, since in some cases it has the children for all
their time (as when a school has both resident a,nd day
pupils) it has further opportunity for giving religious
teaching. Let us see to what extent these agencies take
advantage of its opportunities in this respect.

'nVe might divide our private schools into two
different groups on the basis of their pur pose--those
maintained by various churphes so that their children
may have, together with their secular teaching, those
religious teachings which they are not able to get in
the public schoo.ls ; and those private schools that have
the same purposes as the public school, but are in
existance because some people feel they can do the "./ork
better than the public schools, having more money at
their disposal and not having to overcrowd as do the
public schools sometimes. Some of thera are founded for
the purpose of carrying out some new methods or pro-
gressive theory of educati on--such as the Siiady Hill

-55-

School in Broolcline. Liaziy of the schools on the
secondary level are "descendants" from schools
founded in the early days "by public spirited people who
wished, in a day v/hen education was not as free as it
is today, to give more people a chance for further edu-
cation. They are r.ow usually thought of as "prepara-
tory" F?chools- -Bradford Academy for girls and Philips
Andover for boys, are examples of this type of school.

In this latter group we find that they can not
do much riore in the way of direct religious teaching
than can the public school, since they are in most
cases working with people of almost as many beliefs as
do the oublic schools, and hence in fairness to them
all do not ish to offer any denominational teachings.
However, especially in the case of the older established
schools there is so much tradition surrounding them that
the very atmosphere seems to radiate many of those
qualities sought for by the road of religious teaching.
Living together with students of many different faiths,
as the resident students do, it often helps to develop
a tolerance and respect for the good in other religions
that is so greatly to be desired.

It is quite different with the schools founded
by various denominations, however, ^^ere their expressed
purpose is to give the children those religious

-56-

teachings which will make them loyal followers of
their church.

If the church maintains hei^wn schools she can
.ut in them as much religious teaching as she sees fit.
In the Roman Catholic schools, as indicated in their
church school curriculum, we find that the religious
teaching is orked in with theiij^ther school subjects.
A series known as the "standard Catholic Headers hy
Grades", is used; it contains stories such as you would
find in many school readers with especial emphasis on
stories ahout saints and iiartyers of the Christian
church. A Catechism of Christian I^octrine, which is
also ohtainahle for use in all grades is also used.
The Catholic Education Series used in the Sunday
church school is also made use of.

In the Lutheran schools the "Little
Catechism" of -artin Luther is used; and a thorough study
of the his tor:' of his life and works and "beliefs is in-
cluded. Schools ar*e maintained on the elementary,
grammar, secondary and college levels.

Other denominations have^iOt strong schools
such as these two denominations have, hut feel rather
that their children should attend public school and
get their religious teaching in some/other way.

This brings up a problem so closely allied to

-57-

oior own that it seems pertinent to discuss it here. Is there any
justificatio . for the existance of parochial schools? The tencency
today seeais to be to condemn theraf.s undemocratic. Athearn in his
book "Religious Education and American Democracy" senses this
feeling whe.. he says, "If religion is an essentii.l factor in educa-
tion and if religion can not be satisfactorily taught in the public
school, is not the church co^ripelled to w thdravi,'' her children and
have parochial schools? Yex public schools are necessary in a
democarcy where people must have a co.:anon body of knowledge, ideals
and standards."*

How can we reconcile these two points? If we want both
the religious teacliing to insure good conduct, which teaching the
church can best provide, and the unifying experience cf the public
school, which it is felt is hindered by the segregation of pupils
in various church schools, then, otvicusly, there must be some ad-
justment somewhere.

But, although our putlic can not give, as we have pointed
out, adequate religious teaching, does that mean that the only al-
ternative method is to have the churches take over the entire educa-
tional work? %'e have already intimated that there are other y/ays in .
which they — the school and church — can cooperatively attain their
ends — and th^it much more can be done along tbis line will be in-
dicated later. Therefore it wdtild seem unnecessary for the church

^ Vi.S.Athear.- "Religious Education and American Democracy" P. 25

I

-58-

to carry this oftentimes heavy burden of an entire educational
program, but rather they can specialize in religious teaching alone.

-59-

Chapter Ten
What le Being Done Through Other Agencies

While we think cf our public, private and church schools
as being the chief agencies through which our chdldren receive re-
ligious teacliing, we must not lose sight of the fact that there
are ether org -nizai,ions who, while they would not perhaps be in-
cluded under formal educational agencies, tive ::iuch valuable
materiel dealing with tiras theme in their programs.

Growing out of the Christian church has come an organiza-
tion yrhich probably does more in the line of religious teaching than
people sometimes realize — the iou-ig Men's Christian Association.
It prcuides an opportunity to express the Christian principles it
teaches in Christian service, which is undoubted y one of the
reasons it makes such an appeal to young people. Through its recreationa],
ed". cational ..nd religious educational program it reaches many of
the boys that the church joses during the "teen age."

A great deal of their religious teaching is carried on
through their discussion gro.ps held in connection v/ith their summer
camp work, and during the winter at their vaiious local headquarters.
The Boston brnch during the year 1930-51 carried on an interesting
course of study in "Understanding Religion", a course cf four
lectures and discussion periods under the direction of able
religious le-j.ders. A relig'ous foi^jm was also held each week from
October to April, at v/i-dch time various aspects of modern religious

-60-

life were presented and dis cussed.

The Y. C. A. through a similar program accomplishes
similar 7;ork for girls.

The work cf both these organizations may he sum.ried up in
the idea that they are touching the life of young people in all of
its phases (educational, social, industrial) and interpreting them
all from a religious viewpoint.

While both cf the organizations have junior members yet
we thinx of them as serving chiefly the older young people. There
are other orgnizatlons which take care of the younger people who
also do much, directiy and indirectly, in the way of religious
teac ing. Gae of the best known of these is the Girl and Boy Scout
movement. Because they are non-sectarian in clmracter they are con-
fronted with much the same problem as the public school so that their
religious teacidngs are al>TOst the same as the character education
work carried on in the schools. However, when t:oops are formed in
connection with any particu.-ar church it gives an opportunity to
link up the ideals anc^oyalties fostered by this movement, i/ith
the particular teachings of the church. Due to their emphs.sis on
out-of-door things the child is often given an appreciation of
natiire which is truly religious in its effect.

<- The Art cf Living, monograph issued by Boston Y.M.G.A., 1950

-61-

The Ca^np Fire Girls parallel the work of the Girl
ScoutE a.id through their work ha.ve proved helpful in the
.natter of forming right attitudes.

There are various adult org-.niEat ons w ich are built
upon principles of re^^^igious teachings, stressing partici;larly
the ideal cf religion as expressed in service to one's f ellovvmen.
Typical examples of such organizations are the fraternal orders,
such as the ^tsons; Knights of Columbus, Knights of Pythias, etc.
Since these are secret orders only raenibers are familar with some
of the progr-.-ii they have for religious teaching, and so only
general! zat-ons can be ;.iade rega. aing it.

-62-

Chapter Eleven
Measuring the Results of Religious Teachings

We have found that from the standpoint of the psy-
chologist, there i^much in real rexig cus teachJ.ng that serves as
a tremendous dynamic to right action; vre have found tliat especially
the church, but also the public and private schools, ;i:id both adult
and young people's organizations are carrying on a program which has
many elements of j^eliglous teaching in them; it would seem then as
if the conclusion was inevitable, that v.e should make further use of
this factor if we wish to iiave those sort'-' of responses i volved in
the idea of good social and civic conduct. But are re sure that
tlie psychologists are right and that the teachings will do all that
is claimed for them.

If we wish to know whether teaching of many other ty^ ss
workf , we can test it; for exa/aple, if v.'e desire to teach fract ons
v.e can rive problems involving this new knowledge which will soon
prove whether or not the teac ing accomplished its aim. Have any
tests been devised by which we can actually measure whether or not
certain religious teachings have resulted in changed attitudes?
Until yevy recently there was jio attempt to do anything of this
sort but now such tests are being devised and w.iile they are

still very much in an experimental stage, it is interesting to
study them to see what they revei.l.

(

-65-

That educators have felt the need of such tests is
apparent. As one writer has said, "Hundreds of millions of
dollars are probably spent annually by churches, Sunday Schools,
and other organizations for children and youth, with alaost no
check on the product — a negligence cf which no modern industry
would be guilty, and which the public schools have rather generally
outgrown so far as ro tine sclx>ol work is concerned. Nevertheless,
although tests exist for predicting success in parti cuar school
studies, in school work in general, and in various occupations, which
have real va ue in saving the time of individuals and the money of
the school system, yet there are no tests for predicting success in
living. i'oT lack of them a vast cjnount of time anu no one .vnows how
much money are probably thrown away on expensive and intricate
devices for _:oral and religious education, a id on more or less
futile attempts to live well in a vrorld whose problems people are
inadequately prepared to meet.---

One of th^ost interesting studies in this connection
was iiia'-e by Hartsiiorne and May, under the auspices of the
Institute of Social and Religious Research, working in cooperation
with Columbia University. ThJ.s research v/as undertaken as an out-
growth of a resolut on adopted in the 1922 meetixag of the

Religious Education Associ^ition, when they voted to atte.upt a
ti

*Hartshorne and May, Studies in Deceit, P. 5-6

{

-64-

"carefi.il and scientific investigation of the question 'How is re-
ligion being taught to young people, and with what effect?"'^
After much discussion the following course of action was agreed
upon;-?^

1, Study the actual experiences of children wMch have
mor J. and religious significance and the effects for periods of
time of the|iioral and religious influences to which crdldren, youth,
and adilts liave been exposed.

2. Apply the objective methods of the laboratory/ to the
measurement of conduct under controlled conditions.

5, Engage one oi^niore full-time investigators and
associate wLzh them advisers and assistants.

4. Secure collaboration by various institutions and

groups .

5. Make the results of the study available in both
technical and populi.r forms.

The research lasted five years in all and the results
have been published by the investigators in three volumes. Each
volxame deals with a different phase of character or conduct:
Volume One: Studies in Deceit

Volxame Two: Studies in Service and Self Control
Volume Three: Studies in the Organization of Character
The initial volume, "Studies in Deceit" , reports on an attempt to

^Hartshorne and ^ay. Studies in Deceit, Foreword P.v
^- Same, foreword, P. VI

i

-55-

devise such tests as woiild Indicate if one weakness which seems to
be very prevelent in our social life today — the tendency tcTfard
deceit — is lessened as a res J-t of religious teacing. The in-
vestigators developed a large number of deception tests; twenty-
two using ordinary classroom situations; four usin^: athlotic coa-
tests; two, parties; and one, work done at home. Tv.'o lying tests
and two stealing tests vfere also worked out.

These tests widch were tried out on about eleven
thousand cluldren from the a.es of eight to sixteen, revealed some
curious res alts. For exsuaple, it was found that those enrolled in
Protestant Sunday schools chested less than those not enrolled.
However, those wlio attended regularly were no more honest than th.cse
who seldom attended, ■'•t would seem that if contact v/ith a Sunday
School tended to make one aicre honest, that the more frequent the
contact the stronger the impulse toward honesty. This moy be ac-
coxinted for by the fact that the cz-ild v;l:o reg-ularly attends church
school under present conditons, gets little more than the one v/ho
rarely attends, for so many attend irregularly that is is necessary
to constantly review and go over ground for the benefit of the
irregular ones, and therefore little real headway is possible.

A rather alarming situation was discovered in another
instance. It was fo^Jind that children belongj|^^ certain organizations
of w:ich one of the aims is to teach honesty, were more deceitful
than those not belonging, -^n one organizatfon length of membership
and rank achieved were positively cor^llated v;ith decsptiveness.*-^

Hartshorne and May, Studies in Deceit, ?. 411

Sarae

-66-

This would seem to make out a rather discouraging
case for religious teaching, u itil we t.'0 back beyond the lacts
which these tests reveal into the reasons for them — and fortunate-
ly these investigators did not stop at getting mere facts but
looked for the :aot,ive beidnd the act, with the result that they
came to the following encouraging conclusion: in itiany cases the
c. ildren did not f eel tiey were doing anything wrong; it T^as a case
of the "end justifying the means", as for example, they ha.d had ini-
pressed upon them that it vfo.s a comraondable thing to do well in
class work — hence If they could d>. it in no other v^-ay, they
cheated in order to appear to do it well. If the child ?:as led
to feel that the greatest value v/as in being fair, rather than in
leading the class it would lessen the desire to cheat. This
attitude has been v.'ell summed up in one of the conclus .ons to v/liich

the investigators came: "Vihere conflict arises between a child
and his environment, deception is a natural iuode of adjustment, havi
in itself no "moral" significance. If indirect ways of gaining his
ends are successful, they will be continued unless definite training
is undertaken tlir^-Ugh v.'liich direct and honest methods may also .le-
come successful".

Evidently the fault lies not with the reli^us teaching
but v^ith the way it is taught. Too much of it has been merely
meaningless platitudes, not identified \n the child 'smind with a
happy result.

* Harts lorne and i^y. Studies in Deceit, P. 412

-67-

Then too, deceit is a very difficult thing to use as a
test of effectiveness of teacliings because v/e are not entirely sure
that deception is always harmful — for example we tldnk it perfectly
justifiable for a doctor to deceive a very sick patient as to his
condition. H^w, then, can v;e teach unsv/erving honesty v»'hen we do not
always follow it, or even expect to follov,^ it?

As the author points out, any moral implications that
arise from these studies of deceptive tendencies are obviously
tentative and incomplete, ^et they do stand as a decided step in
a forward direction, for \. checking up on our results, even if it
isjiJot possible to ao it v.-ith a fine degree of accuracy, is vastly
better than no check at all and gives us some indications of how
to modify our procedures in order to achieve better results.

Volume Two presents two extremely interesting phases of
good social and civic conduct — the cliaracteris oics of service and
self control. In attempting to test vzhether or not attendance at
Sunday School had any aifect on the development of these character-
istics , the investigators tried to secure data as to the number of
ciiildren who had attended Sunday School, how regularly they
attended (i.e. how many times a month) and how many years they had

attended. They felt that their data wr.s not exactly accurate, be-
cause since the children represented so many widely scattered Suiiday
Schools it was not thought practical to attempt to check back to
the schools to find out about their attendance and so they had to

-68-

relj on the children's statements as to how often they v:ent and for
how many years. However, since they used children from three
different communities in tlxLs inquiry, and the resiilts seemed to be
fairly consistent from population to ppulation they felt they had
a decree of reliability.

The scores on these tests indicated th.::t charitable and
cooperative tendencies are probably associated with the -.-mount and
reg'-.larity of Sunday School attendance. The association is small,
however.^

The authors condL ude tha':. as in the case of tendencies
to dsceive, it is apparent that such efforts to train children in
forms of charitable and cooperative beliavLor as our ordinarily
used in school, :iave very little, if any, effect. iiven wLen
special attention is paid to this problem, as in Sunday Schools and,
telubs, the affects, if they be effects, are not great enough to
make members stand out as being consistently superior to non-
member s.->^-

In testing the effects of religious teaching on the
characteristic of self control, the authors drev; sonie interesting
conclusions. Two questions were raised: Are Jewish children more
per .-is cent, more long-suffering, in accordance with popular con-
ception of their national characteristic? Do Protestant children

■«-Hartshorne and "lay. Studies In Service and Self Control, P. 218-24
■K^ Same P. 275

-69-

ha.ve a .-aore v riable ethical outlook than Catholic children?
The authors feel thiit "to such questions as these science v/ill
soon be able to find an ansv/er. The findings of the present
studies, are, of course, too meager to be regarded as anything final.
They are however, suggestive." The Jewish ch-ildren rank highest in
persistence. Those vr!:0 attend Sunday School regularly ranlc higher
in persistance than t. ose v/ho do not fo.-^

Oi course, the objection may be raised that persistance
unless it is in some worthy cause, may be harraf il as well as
beneficial. Hovrever, assuming that right attitudes can be developed
so that it t-i :es the right track, it should prove a helpf .1 f -ctor.

In the next volume of :-heir series they present some
ver^ interesting tests designed to measure social intelligence and
social attitudes. One interesting thing about these tests is that
they use illustrations of actual situations which the children are
apt to encounter.

The authors conclude that further study of an experf mental
nature will be needed before the contribution of the Sunday School
to the etldcal insight and attitudes of the pupils can be
determined.-^-

These tests, however, a-9 by no means tlie only ones
that liave been devised to test the res'ilts of religious teach:' ngs.

See Page 35, Harts horne and May, Studies in the Organization of
Character, for examples of these tests.
■J^"- Saaie volume. Page 152 ^

-70-

Watson, in ids book, "SxparimeiitaT. on aad Measurement in
R8lig_ous 3ducat;.on", devotes a nost interesting chapter to a
list CI tests -iow available widch include tests of : biblical
knowledge, (true-false, multiple choice); social prejudices;
re- ct ions to problems of eveiy day life; et'iical discrimination;
religious ideas and concepts; racial, attitudes .-J^-

A partic.J.arly valuable t-.ing about this aiaterial is that
it not only tells v;hat the test is for but points out the way to
administer it, score it, and other coraraents such ss where to secure
similar loaterial, jrcb~ble value, i.e., whether it is extremely
accurate or only approximates a measure.

The entire hoolf. gives much practical material on the
use of testing in the work of relig-ous education and indicates that
much could be dene in oiiis field, not only In the way of showing
what "-.as been accomplished, buthow more can be achieved tlrnn is at
present possible.

Too long ha.s religious education been carried on with
the hope that it would br ng tlie desired res Its, but with no
way cf finding out until too late whether or not it actua ly did
it. That there is an imperative need for tests such as we have
been describing is evident. Vieth, in his book, "Teacidng for
Christian Living", has well emphasized this need when he says: "The
final test is life itsai-f. test cf irry methods as a gardener is

^-Chajter no'ir

-71-

tha kind of vegetables widch I grow. Similarly, the final test of
a school or a teacher is the kind cf men and wo len who go (;ut from
their influence. The test of religious education is whetlier it
produces Christian men and women. But suppose I use the wrong
metiiod with my veget bles? My corn yields only "nubbins" instead
of delicious ears, it is then too late to start the process over
again and try another method. I liave lost a year from the effective
life of asy garden. That i^ot so bad wViere grocery stores a:id
hucksters carry plenty of vegeta.les w ich may be purchased. But
suppose as a teachei^bf religion I use the wrong method, but do not
discover my niistake until these pupils of 'nine have grown into
manhood and womanhood. It is then too lata to begin over again
with a different metiiod. My failure has lott to the Kingdom
prec -ous human souls of inestitiiable worth. Thus it is imperative
that we LiB.ve measures wherebj- v.^may test our work as wemove along
from week to week, so th. t ever;' success may be crowned with re-
newed effort in that direction, and avery failure repaired as
quickly as possible. Viith vegetables this is compo.ratively easy,

7»hen it comes to human ch .racter, aow fa' ch ha.rder I But when

we think of the importance of the .Tiattsr concersied, how much
more imperative that v.e iiave a method whereby we may measure
progress."*

-> P.H,Vieth, "Teaching for Christian Living" ^ 2354

-72-

While w^ust not feel undiily elated over these nev.-
ef forts at testing, for they are still experiments, vet they
dc hold distinct promise of becoming an increasingly important
factor in adding to the effectiveness, and consequently the value
of religious teaching.

BOOK FOUR

M MALYSIS OF THS SPECIFIC CIVIC COiJDUCT SHORTAGE
—LACK OF RESPECT FOR LAW.

-75-

Chapter Twelve
The ^T'Sent Situation

The study made by Hartshorne and Ivlay, of two factors
which are certainly important elements in tliis general concept of
"social and civic conauct", bring out the idea, suggested in a
previous chapter, — the necessity of making our teac^iings more
specific if we hope to achieve any real results.

It would be extremely worthwhile, therefore, if we could
make a similar analysis for all the factors which enter into this
concept of "good social and civic conduct", and iijraight give us a
more scientific answer to our inquiry as to whether or not religious
teaching can greatly influence such condxict. There are so many
ramifications to this problem, that it is obviously impossible to
attempt such a thing in the confines of a single stiidy, however.
It would be possible and p3rhaps significaat to laquire into one
other phase of tliis concept w iich is demanding increased attention
today from mar^r q^uarters — the factor of law observance.

It i& difficult to conceive how people can ever learn to
"live together well in lai-ge group relationships", unless they are
willing and anxious to cooperate in maintaining the laws wiiich they
themselves have laid down as riecessary for their guidance. Is triis
an undijJ.y pessimistic outlook, of is there actual evidence tliat
the present situation is a crirtical one? Let us examine this factor
then, and see if it holds anyth_ng that will challenge our thinking.

-74-

Sveiyone is familiar with the cliaracteristic atti-
tude of the American people that everything connected with
our country is "bigger and better" than anything else of its t
type to be found anj'-whsre. lie take great pride in the vast
scale on w .ich we do eveiythi.ig. We seem to iiave a jnania for
wanting bi.-., things done in a big way. There is one thing,
however, about our country, which is probably bi ger than the
same t". Ing in laany other civilized countries of which we are
not so proud — in fact in tliis particular line we would gladly
forego the undesirable disi-inction of having first place — this
is in our deplorable record for lawlessness.

As one writer has so aptly phr .sed it, "I'or a dozen
years the -eaders of the legal profession, social v.'orkers and
laymen on the streets, have looked with justified alarm on
the spectacle of single American cities indulging in more crime
a year than all the people of ureat Britain — the menace cf ac-
quired and chronic lawlessness. Crime commisstons sit and
clean-up campaigns come and go. But every gre .t American city
remains a dangerous place by day and night. Miorders, hold-ups,
homicides; — in gambling districts, in silk stocking areas, on
the grounds of our great Universities, in the shadow of cathedrals.
What is the cause* Is there no remedy?

Why is it th-at we, who come from English traditions.

* W. E. Dodd "Our Ingrowing Habit of Lawlessness,
Century; Vol. 116: P. 691-6 October, 1928

-75-

hav9 not their respect for law? There we do not find people
making fun of their laws. The low crime rate in London is al-
most proverbial. The unarmed English "bobby" proves a most
effective protector of the peace. You do lot see armoured
cars running through London streets, carrying the pay rolls
of London firms. They do not need to. Wl:^ is this? ^ne
reason, of course, is the fact that in England swift and sure
judgment is passed on the offender, but .aore than thi-S, as
«^ames Tru^slo^'- Adams p. ints out "there is an alinost universal
bac'-ground of respect for law and order.""""

It is no uncOiMon thing here in trds country for in-
telligent and worthw:iile citizens to publically proclaim that
they think people should not support a law in which they do
not believe, iiicholas ''^urray Butler, has taken such an atti-
tude toward the Prohibition law. Samuel Gompers, that great
champion of the worki:igman,says tha.t^ he would br-aak any law thi
attempted to forbid railroad men to strike.'-"*

Even more common is the prevailing belief that if you
commit some more or less serious infraction of the law it can
oe "fixed up", an assumption th:.t causes many people to take a
rather cynical view of the whole raatter of law observance.

This seems a rather black picture to paint of our
American life. Yet it is, unfortunately, only too true.

* Atlantic -^onthly, Dece-aber, 1928
Same

-76-

Chapter Thirteen
Causes of Lawlessness .

One of the valuable lessons v/e have learned from our
scientific activity, is the idea of cause and effect. V<e
realize th^t things do not merely happen but every effect rnust
have a cause. Science ta.ces us further a.na Sxiov.s us tlv-t ii v; e
understand the cause v?e can someti.jes control it end thus regu-
late the effect.

If this be true, then it would seem as if we. would do
well in attacking tbis problem, to inquire into the reasons wby
v;e are such lawless people? '.vould then be in a better
position to suggest remedies — indeed until we do attack the basic
causes any attempts at correction will not be as effective as
they otherv.ise mi^'ht.

Can we disentangle from the mass of varying opin ons
and facts, any tangib2.e material that will enable us to discover
whiat are tie real basic, underlying causes for tMs traiic shortage
in our civic coaduct?

All sorts of rec.eons mve been advanced for this
situation. One cf the favorite excuses is to blame the foreigner
and hold him responsible, condemning them all as lawless indi-
viduals. As a matter of fact, as Adams points out, foreirners
do uot .Tiake Americans lawless j on the contrary v e rasite lawbreakers
of them, ihey come from countries wiich compelled them to be
lawabiding — it isn't uniil they come here tirxat they commit crimes

-77-

to any great degree. Of covTse, some oi the reason for this
may lay in the fact thr.t the nej; environment bevn.lders them and
because of lack of adjustment they fail into criminel ways, but
the significant thing is tht here in tliis ccuntrjr they have
apparently more opportunity for crime — and less chance of
being punished for it aftei' it is committed.

Anothei factor to which our lawless tendencies are
often traced is the great spirit of rectlessness that seems to
dominate our country, ihere is still a fever_sh sort of desire
to ;ncve about such as was clmracteristic of the colonial days.
The California gold rush of almost a hundred years a^ o has its
recent counter -art in the Florida land boo"). This roving spirit
has certainly affected the attitude toward* law observance in
that it has rja.de people chafe at restraint, and more recently,
it has aade it easier to evade penalty for br ;akine; the law.

The comparative youth cf tlie American people has been
advanced as another cause for the low regard for lav^r, v/ldch seems
to be so chif.racteristic tocay. It is said triat ti.is is shov/n
by the fact that this attitude is rarely found in loUr estabMshed
coimnunities with their trad '.tons cf social obligat lo s and good
citizenship.

"Respect for lavv is a plant of slow growth. If for
centuries laws s-ve been reasonably sound and mpartially and
su-Tely enforced by the lawf.l authorities, respect for laF as
law, will increase, li on the" other hjand, laws are unreasonable

-78-

and go contiaiy to the habits and desires of large parts cf the
population and are not enforced equitably cr swiftly, respect
for law will decrease. On the whole, the first supposition
applies to tne history of ^ -gland for tir-ee hundred years and
the second to our ovrn country.

This idea is still further illustrated in the state-
ment that "conscience and public opinion enforces the laws:
the police suppress the exceptions. -^-^

Dodd, in an article ■5\Tritten for the Christian Cent.ry,

echoes tl is same fee ing, or at _east it is intimated in his

II

attitude, when he says The growth in crime has increased to
the Kint that -ife in large cities has become somewhat pre-
carious. The newspa^^ers attribute it to the efforts of Pro-
hibition agents to er.iorce the ..aw. Judges attribute it to
the incoming foreigners. Business men say it is the breakdown
of the judicial system, Perhaps all of these conditons bear
an element of truth and perhaps there are other unnamed causes..
E-;t the: e has been a hab -t of lawlessness in the United States
from the earliest days — a liabit v,u'dch iias influenced immigrants
on their arrival, which has warped the minds of the young,
which has swayed the officers of the law and w/ich gravely
threatens the existing social order l'-^----^

^ J. T. Adams, "^ur Jjawless "-^eritage, Atlantic iVlonthly, Vol. 142
December, 1928

A. T. Had ley, "^a.v "^king .:,nd -"a?* Enforcement, Harpers, Nov. 1925
-JHHJ-C.E.Dodd, Our Ingiowing ^abit of J-'awlessness, Century, October
1928

-79-

Dodd has emphasized a factor v/nich seems to be one
of the keynotes of the situation — the idea that this lawless-
ness is not a recent development but iias existed during all cur
country's liistory. If this be true, then Adains is not speaking
too harsbJ.y when he says "Vthen Americans talk about their
glorious past, it aiay be y^'ell for them to remember that we have
one of th^cst sinister inheritances in this matter of law-
lessness from which any civilization could suffer, a heritage
which we are apparently passing down to our children in a still
worse form."-K-

In view of these damning statements it wou d be In-
teresting to survey the history^ of our country'" to see whether
or not ttds is justified. Can re find any evidence in the brief
period of one hundred i.nd fifty five years w ich constitute our
separate existance, that indicates that the charge is we 1
founded?

An exa.mination of the early his tor.- of cur country
reveals the startling fact that not only were we constant law-
breakers, from the very" start of our government, but that
government itself 'v/as conceived and or^jani^ed as a result of a
distinctly lawless procedure; in X a ct even from the time of
the first settlements the old law, proving a hindrance was dis-

J.T.Adams, ">Jur -lawless ^'^er'tage", Atlantic ^io.ithly,
December, 1326

regarded. The old Massachusetts Bay Colony, itself, started
with a shadow of aishonesty: — the charter was secretly bri.ught
tc this country, with the intent of usin it as a Constitution
for a self-governing state by "misinterpreting" it, whereas it
was only intended to be a charter of incorporation. The great
distance between the colony and the i^iother Country and the
diffic'.lty of comiunicption, oade it easier fcr the colony to
"get away" with such oractices.

While ijfraay be svid in excuse, that the life of the
early colo:iists was of such a type that it demanded that the
existing laws be adapted to the conditions prevailing and that
some times in order to survive, it vas necessary for the early
settlers to be a "law unto themselves", yet t is idea still
prevailed even iiftsr the necessity had passed, and it did nave
an effect on v.eakening the respect for laws in general.

Sometimes when it was really dangerous for them to do
so, some settlers, more daring than the rest, Vtfould jush into
nev,- territory and mark out homes for themselves. Realizing
that this seizing of territories without proper parleying with
the red men, who were the origi nal owners of the land, meant
an inevitable clash, the English f-overnment passed a law that
no territory was to be occupied until the government had made
agreements with the Indians regarding it. The colonists ig-
nored the _aw, even T;hen It was backed up by their own popularly
elected Assemblies, and moved into whatever territory seemed

-81-

desirabls. The consequence was a lawless frontier stretcl^ing,
by 1776, ail the way froiii New Hampshire to Georgia. Just as
the English had predicted, all the Indian tribes beyond the
Alleghanies became their bitter enemies.

The inevitable result of tids extreme individualism
was the growth of a feeling that if a law was not pleasant it
need not be obeyed. Particularly in this early Colonial
period, when England did not hf.ve sufficient force present in
the Colonies to enforce her regiiiatons, this feeling grew
rapidly .

A survey of this Colonial period reveals so inany
infrv.ctions of the law ihat it soaetimes leads one to wonder
if there were any laws that were ever enforced. Laws restrict-
ing trade seemed to be particularly unpopular and consequently
were vjolated extensively, i'obacco was particularly
valuable commodity it co.ld be sold in the Dutch markets

and although thJ.s was forbidden by the "Mother Country, a very
profitable trade was carried on in this product. The famous
"three-cornered tr -de" with Africa is another example of their
characteristic disregard of the trade laws. "They took their
product to the forbidden V<'sst Indies; got gold, or rum, went
to Africa for si ves; took them to the Southern planters; got
sugar W'-ich they cook, to New England; it was made into rum and

* ¥». E. Dodd, "Our Ingrowing %bit of -^avvlessness" Century,
October, 19E&

sold on the frontier in return for furs and skins. "-^

SoiUe of the leaders in tr±s type of trade later bscaae
the saints of American history — such as Peter Fanuael, famous
for his so-called "Cradle of -ijiberty" — Fanuael ^all.

In ace; . .:.....ce with the prevailin.^ colonial policy
of that time England passed many restrictions which were un-
doubtedly conceived primarily for the good of the Mother Country.
One such law was that relating to the areas set aside as the
"King's ?)Oods.." England needed :iuch timber for the ship build-
ing program she had to carry on if she were to maintain her .laval
supremacy, and in the vast forests of the Aiaerican colonies there
were choice woods for this purpose. Accordingly certain trees
?'-9" e selected by the official surveyors which were to be re-
served for tbe use of the royal navy. The Colonists needed
trees too — convenient to their sliip yards, for the increasing
number of ships they were building to take care : f the profitable
shipping industry, and oftentimes violence vas practiced to
force the surveyors to le ve the trees aloi^e.

It oiust be said -'n aefsn&e of the s;jttlers, however,
that in some instances they vvere not entirely wrong in
taking the law into their own hands. The famous Bacon
Ftebellion (1776) might be almost justified on the grounds
that the Western pioneer could not wait for the slow machinery
of the Eastern courts to operate — and when it did operate it

* J.T.Adaas, "^ur i^awless ^ erltage" Atlantic ^^onthly,
December, 1928

-85-

was so ignorant of western conditions tht it often seemed
to "be unfair to them. The fact remains, nevertheless, that
it did not have a healthy effect on the attitude of the frontiers-
men toward any law.

Commenting on this early manifestation of lawlessness,
Adams brings out the fact that all law r3sts upon one or more
of three sanct .ons e(a.d that these failing the law will not be
respected nor obeyed: 1. the dictum of some supernaturel
power. 2. command of an earthly sovereign. 5. consent c: the
governed. The supernaturel sanction was tried in the ^^^ew
England theocracies but abandoned as unworkable; the authority
of the king was not pra ctical- he v;as too far away — so tlrnt was
abandoned. The consent of the governed — as expressed in the
New England town meeting— was left, and this was obeyed — but
the fact that the Imperial law" was disobeyed v/eakened its
authority.*

The entire Revolutionary period was oiarked by acts
which were in direct and open defiance of existing laws, cul-
minating, of course, in the vrar itself, by v^hich the country
won its independence. The fact th^t many of these acts vrei-e
done by ardent patriots, v»ho if they stopped to rec.son the thing
out at all, doubtless would have justified their acts on the

* J. T. Adams, "gur -lawless Heritage." Atlantic ii^onthly,
December, 1928

-84-

grounds of the "ends justified the niieans", hf:s brought them
down to our ovm times colored with much glamour and romance — yet
undoubtedly, coupled with the great spirit of individualism so
rife at that time, they did much to contribute to our present
lax attitude toward law observance, and street fighting

charticterized the days before and during the war — the Boston
Massacre and Boston Tea ^arty v*eie demonstrations of lawless-
ness that present day historians are less apt to condone than
has been the case in the past.

Hot many pec pie realize that d ring tils period people
did not allow courts to sit — Sss^jx and Middlesex ^ere the only
coTiiities in Massachusetts where sessions were held, Cn all
sides came complaints that "contempt for authority and
general unwillingness to submit to law prevailed."*

Following the P^volut ' on the people who b^,d felt
justified in violating so many laws in order to secure their
independence were faced with the necessity of making some laws
of their own to £:overn themselves w .th. Immediately they ran
up against that extreme individualjan that disliked restraint
of any kind. It was obviously necessary to r-iise money to
carry on the government, bu^no one seemed willing to be
taxed for that purpose. "No taxation without representation"
was changed, by implication at least, to "I^o taxation at all."

-"'•H.B.Faialkner, "An Econcalc ^'istcr^'- of United States, P. 195

-bo-

One great trouble was that the var - us sections of the
country were so isolated that they felt ao common interest nor
reason for giving up anything for e. ch other. Since union
meant iievitably, a compr. mise in order to secure the greatest
good for everybody, it naturally followed th£.t some laws must
be iiiade for th-e good of all wr.ich would 'be irksome to a portion
of the people. The unwillingness to coop3rate strongly marked
this troublous period in our early histoiy."^^^

During the war of 1812, we find other examples of
the way '.n which the people, appare.itly v/ith no compunction,
broke their own laws if it sv^ited their individual desires.

England, whose shipping suffered from the restrictions of
the Embargo and ^^on-Inter course Acts sailed her fast ships into
any ports th^t offered good trading, charging off the losses
of seized sliips against the enormous profits whj.ch such trade

brought in.^-- In fact the busiaets became core lucrative
than the lawful trade of the previous years.

The slavery question which aroused such a storm of
trouble all over the country between 1&S5 and 1660, w^;s one
of many factors in wrdch can be detected traces of lawlessness.
As -^rlowe has said, it was a period of great s.£itation. He
felt that it was a product of tl.e American Revolution. "In
the 50 'e and 40 's the pe..ple in charge of affairs had as
children iistenea to their grandfathers as these old veterc.ns

^ C. 5. Dodd, "Our Ingrowing i^abit of -lawlessness" Centiiry
October, 1928

h. S.Faulkner, An Economic ^istory of the ^J.S. P, 197

-86-

retold the stories of the revolutionary days of '76. Brought
up in the atiaospnere of rebe lion they were filled with a
fierce imxilse to attack ."^^omething, anything, no matter rhat."^
This spirit tended to iaa<e people too impatient to wait for the
"slow wheels of justice" — they felt that they must take inattsrs

into their own hands — and there wers/iflany causes for friction
in these early days which necessitated some kind of adjustment.
Intolerance was rife^ race hatred keen; altogether the atti-
tudes of the people of th-t time present a rather sorry picture.

Ai illustration of the fierce intolerance and race
hatred so clmrecteristic of the time is found in the persecution
cf the Irish and Catholic people between 1855 azid 1855 es-
pecially. The negroes were the objects of abuse, also. In
Philadelpha thirty houses were burned or sacked. A church was
pulled down and several people killed.

In Illinois one of the Abolitionists, a strong be-
liever in free speech, a ---an by the name of ijovejoy, was killed
by a mob, who three his printing presses into the river.
William Lloyd Garrison vvas dragged through the streets of
Boston by a .aob and probably would have been killed had not
the j-overnor h-d him put in jail.-^- -^

In the Reconstruction days in the i^outh lynching was
a co.rimon .)ractice. I'he ?vlu Klux ^■>-lan was organized in lo86
in an attempt to stem the terrible corruption resulting from

-J^Harlowe, "The Growth of the United States., ?. 289

-«-"-See Nevins, Social ^^istory as Recorded by British Travelers

for further illustratons . Cha-.ter 2, P. 64

■j^-j-^William LLoyd Garrison, His ^ife and Times, Johnson

"carpet bag" and aewly enfranchised negro government, which
sprang up in tliat section as a resiilt of the stupid way that
Congress attempted to handle the situation. The attitude of this
time is revealed in the comment of a Southern judge who said
"i wo'old stuff a ballot box in order to have a good, honest,
government.

Undoubtedly the conditions were bad enough to warrant
drastic action ana yet it can not be denied that such situations
ao no1|raake for a feeling of respect for law.

Following the Reconstruction -^er .od we find another
per od of lawlessness — in connection with the groy;th of big
business, which developed at this time.'""^ The disgraceful
"Credit idobelier" scheme connected with the construction of the
Union -^^acific Railroad, was only one instance wher.^: the laws were
evaded and the law itself brought into disrepute because of the
corrupTion of the people to v.hom the task of governing the
country was given.

Coming up to our own day v?e find still further
evidence that this same feeling still exists. Mob violence is
still found. During the last war Fritz Kriesler, the famous
violinist was prevented from playing at a concert because of
the mob which gathered.->^->-Jf-

■«-Harlowe, The ^owth of the united States, P. 548

H U. Faulkner, "An Economic History of the United States,
P. 594

■JHHt "Situation we are in -nd ti.e Tfay Out" Ngrth America
Septemoer, 1925 Pp. 7?-8 Vol. 22Z

-86-

While undoubtedly the heaviest blame for our present
situa"olon must be ciiarged to what Adams ^as called "our lawless
heritage", as the foregoing discussion would indicate, yet that
does not mean that there are no other factors of gree.t importance
as well. One ver;^'" inpcrtant factor is becoa n;i of increasingly
great irapcr :.ance---oiar present day "pass :.on for law making."
Hadley feels that one of the "greatest dangers w'.'lch now con-
fronts us is tl'.e increasing demand for ill-considered legislation
and the increasing readiness of would-be reformers to rely on
authority rather than on public sentiment to gain their ends."^-

He suggests that if a la?/ seems Throng that it would
seem justifiable to "nullify" it by not obeying it. He points
out, however, that ti.'ds is dangerous, for if a good man breaks
a bad law under pressure of necessity, it y»111 encourage another
ma:i who is not good, to break seve £.1 other laws iA"bich may not
be bad at all.

He feels that "until the representative recognizes
that his office is a pub ic trust and he must bring to it his
best tliinking, not allowing himself to be sv/ayed by personal
considerations, there will continue to be cases when the devoted
lover of self-government will often have to choose between the
danger of lawlessness which res..l-&s from ignoring a. statute, and
the danger of tyranny which is involved in passive obedience .

Gernily criticizes sharply the idea that laws rnay be

"noble experiments", on the grounds that we should not experiaent

-;-A.T. Hadley, Harpers '^'agazine, '•November, 1925 "Law "*aking and
Law Enforcement,
same

-89-

with anything as dangerous and far rercidng as ths.t. He feels
that things should be tested as far as possible before being
incorporated into a law. "If ycu wish to test a new serum",
he says, "you do not inoculate the entire population." So with
laws, they should be tried out more carefu_Lly, in smaller groups
if possible, before they are made into laws.

lihile many people would not agree absolutely w th
him on that score, yet probably everyone will agree ths^t our
"passion for law aaking" should be curbed to an extent vvhere
more rational thought Ttill be given to this very vital matter.

Another suggestion has been advanced by Adams, when
he says that we must throw overboard thayold idea, inherited
from our ?uritan forebears, th...t if anything is wrong, niake a
law to stop it — thc.l^s force your ideas on the community in the
form of a law and then th^ere presence of the law 7/ill .i-ake
them better. The intimation is thi t even if a law is not ob-
served its presence on the statute books will show that the
idea has some standing.

Because the majority do not take much interest in law
making it is possible for a minority to get a law passed
sometimes and then the ethers vvon't obey it. -^n other words
"Because we '.iave no respect for law v/e allow any sort of law to
be passed and then— the vicious circle continuing — our disrespect
increases as more bad laws are passed."

*-R. F. Germly, "our Passion for Law taking" Harpers aflagazine
November, 19<:8

J.T.Ada.is, "Our Lawless "eritage, Atlantic ^onthly, Dec. 1926

-30-

Lord '^culton, in his stimulating discussion of
the topic "Law and %nners" reveals indirectly another reason
why we are confronted with this great civic shortage. ->^-

According to his theoiy there are three great domains
of human action: 1. the d(.;main of positive lav?, where our
actions are precribed by lav> binding upon us which must be
obeyed. 2. the domain of free choice, wrdch includes all
those actions :.£ to which we claim and enjoy complete freedom.
"But beyond these two there is a tliird large and important
domain in which their r J-es neither p-'Sitive law nor absolute
freedom. In that domain the^e is no lav; ^vhich inexorably
determines cur course of action and yet we feel th::.t we are :ot
free to do just as we would." He calls it the "domain of
manners." His implication is that that field rests on an
appreciation of the fact that great pr v«leges inevitably
cariy with them added responsibilities; until people realize
this eternal truth they can not handle this field successfully.
In England, for example, with its hundreds of years of precedent,
there has developed tnis "middle ground" to such an extent tha^t
there are mny things which no cne wo ;ld thinx of doing, even
though there is no law against it. It just "isn't done."

The intimation is that in a young country this
feeling is not yet developed, hence in tnis country we tend,
where we do not bs.ve positive lav^ to indulge in "free choice"

*The Atlantic ^nthly, July, 1924

to the extent rrnere 773 are anti-social.

Our anal7sis of tiiis situat on, then, would tend to
show us that while there are many and varied causes and ex-
planations to account for our shortages in this matter of
law abidingness, that they really co .Id be divided into two
types: 1. our lawless history, based on an exaggerated in-
dividualism, has given us a "spirit of lawlessness" 2 our
pass on for law iHaking has led us to pass unwise laws, which
res Ited in lack of respect for all laws.

^nowing our weaknesses in tbJLs direct on, can we
find a remedy?

-92-

Chapter i:'ourte9n
Can Religious Teachings Eliminate This Shortage?

Yif'hen we analysed the reaso is for the many cases of
lawlevssness in our histoiy vre realized that rauch of it sprang
from an exagerrated sense of individualism which was almost
inevitable in a p'..oneering era, but Trhich can serve no useful
purpose in our :aore complex civilizat on of today — in fact it
would be fatal to our ^ell-beiag. If we of today were as
independent and self-sufficient as were those early people,
we might have some reason for being as individualistic, but,
living as we do in a highly interdependent stage, we murt ac-
cept the obligations together with the priveleges of such a
situation. 7ihat we need to do then, is to substitute for this
extreme individualism which prevails, a seise of cooperation.
We need to stress those two elements of good conduct which
Hartshorne and May studied in their survey — service and self-
control, which are the direct antithesis of this over-indi-
vidualistic outlook. If we CO .;1q do th-is we could mitigate
to a great extent that influence that our heritage has given
us.

Can we find any specific evidence that there is any-
thing in our program cf religious teaching which would develop .
this cooperative feeling?

An analysis of the five different courses of study
which we presented in a survey of the religious teachings

-95-

given by various a= ancles, revealed the fact that all of thern
stressed very strongly txiis idea of "service." Through use of
Biblical materials which stress this idea: through the story of
the service rendered by the church and by great h-roes of all
time, these courses sho id do much to stimulate the feeling that
"service" oiust be the keynote of any world that is to endure.

In our discussion of the rsligious teachings gained :
through other agencies than the church school, we brought out
the fact that '-n the Young People's Institutes and summer
conferences th-is idea of service received very great and
effective emphasis.

It would seem, therefore, as if religious teachings
could do much toward eliminating this shortage. However, the
attempt will be comparatively futile if the church is asked to
carry the burden alone — that is until the school, the home and
other agencies cooperate to the end that these teachings which
have such dynq!(jic possibilities can be gotten across to the
young people through a well planned and well adjoinistered program
which will go beyond the tr.aditional Sunday Church School or-
ganization, we can not hope that these teacrdngs will function
to any great extent.

Can anytiiing be done to overcome the other cause of
our shortage — our pass /on for law .-naking? Is that beyond the
province of rel-gioas teaching or can it offer something that
will help in this situation also? Some people feel that

-94-

religion should keep entirely clear of anything that savors
of politics; it is her province to instill the right ideals
in her people Yrliich T.dll enable them to take part in this
phase of their civic living, wisely, rather than interfering
directly. But v.'ith the growing emphasis on the "social
message" of religion, it not on^y can, but actually is, doing
something to help.

Probably inany of the questionable laws which crowd
our statute books were placed there either because people
did not understand the situation and so legislated unwisely,
or were too indifferent to the whole situation to protest
against their representatives passing laws w' ich did lot
represent the welfare of the majority of the people.

Undoubtedly the sin of ignorance must bear the
larger share of the blame for once people realize the signifi-
cance and vital importance of a situation, indifference is no
longer a factor to worry about.

V.'e find in the field of religious teachings an in-
creasing emphasis on these social problems, an understanding
of which should resjlt in more intelligent action legislative-
ly. As Coe has pointed out "the church has turned mors and
more in the last two decades to social needs and problems.
lihen the Vv'ebb-iCenyon CMld J-iabor bill was pending in the
House of Representatives a Sunday School class of boys sent
to the Congressman from their district a request that he

-95-

support the measure. At the baginning of this century probably

no Sunday School studied such matters but today topics like
this seem to be entirely familiar in the church.

However, he did not imply that things could not be
improved upon — the significant thing in the axample cited was
that it marked a beginning — a recognition of the fact that
here was a phase of life hitherto neglected w'aich religion
should touch.

Coe feels keenly that the best way to get at the
truth of a situation is not to hush all critical coinraent but
to welcome it as a means of testing the validity of the
thing criticised. He believes that the church must develop
the b-abit of free soci>^.l criticism- must realize that con-
structive criticism is essential to progress.

While to date it can not be pointed out that
religious teachings h^.ve eliminated these very outstanding
civic shortages, which are such a stumbling block in the way
of attaining our ideal of better civic reactions, yet the
trend is so distinctly in the direction of their mitigation,
even their elimination, that we may expect to find in the
not too far distant future that it can no longer be said
of us that we are the most lawless nation in the world.

*G. A. Coe "Religious education and Political Conscience"
Teachers College Record, Vol. XXIII, September, 1922

BOOK FIVE

A SUi&i/lAEI MD SOME CONCLUSIONS

-96-

Chapter -i^ifteen
A Sunuiiaiy and Some Conclusions

Is religious teaching the most pcv/erful dynamic we
know to secure social and civic conduct? As a result cf our
questioning among the various sources we have tapped, the
answer would seem to be "Yes." Ps chologists find that the
concept it would give is an impetus to right action that is
unsurpassed; in the curricula of the church, the public and
private school, and other organizations, v/e find elements of
teaching which, in varying degree, tend when properly carried
out, to give these vital concepts; the new and rapidly develop-
ing field of testing is contributing to the effectiveness of
teaching by serving as a check on results which will aid in
developing improved methods cf presenta Aon; so from many
sources do we find evidence that religious teaching is a
thing to be reckoned with in the formation of character.

Vihat significance does this hold for us as educators?
Is there any tiling we can and should do about it?

If one of our primary aims is to make good citizens,
one of the fundamental characterisitics of which is that
social and civic conduct which enables them to live together
in harmonious relationships, and religious teaching is one of
the most powerful factors in moulding such character, then
the inevitable conclusion seems to be that here is something
we can not afford to ignore if we are to accomplish our aim.

-97-

Since one of the great difficulties connected with
religious teachings seems to be the problem of how to get it
^ across to more of our people In a more satisfactory manner, we

as teachers should offer, tiir.ugh any of the agencies which
seem to us best, to cooperate to the fullest extent in order
that this difficulty may be lessened. As long as seven out
of every ten people in the country receive no teaching of
this sort whatever, how can we expect the tliree who do get it
to carry on against such a majority? And how can ?;e expect the
other seven to becoiae interested unless ve improve the method
of presentation?

Obviously the schools, touching life at so many
angles as it does now, is in a position to help religious
teaching both directly and indirectly, and this without
sacrificing any of our fundamental belief that there should be
entire separation of church and state.

How this can be done has already been hinted at — in
a coo -erative program undoubtedly lies the solution of the
problem. Athearn feels ths-.t the United States will have a
system of moral training for her ch-ildren inside of ten
years. -J^ It will include aot only such character education as
can be taught in the public schools, but will go beyond and spon-
sor various ty^ses of religious teaching through the churches

W

Vi.S. Athearn, "Character Building in a Democracy" P. 12

working in cooperation with the school, -^n order to maintain
a Christian Democracy, Athearn states, where church and state
are separate, ve must have a complete "educafonal arch", one
side of which will consist of the state supported schools and
the other side church supported educational institutions of
the same grade and qualitj'' as the secular schools, working in
cooperation y.'ith them to achieve the best results. The state
lias a good system of elementary, secondary, collegiate, and
graduate schools, with teacher training institutions to train
teachers and supervisors, to see that the work is carried on;
the church needs just such a system. That of course implies
more than the one hour on Sunday, more than the vacation day
school, if the church is to .aaintain a system of tliis type.
If religious teaching is of such importance it deserves a par t
of the school day of the child. The school, it is felt by
some, is demanding too much of the cliild's time — it is not
fair to expect the church to .aake adequate headway if it must
salvage a few moments out of the meagre leisure left to the
child. Yi/hen the school Y,'ill lend its hearty support to
sponsoring such a program then can the church appeal to more
tb^n three out of every ten young people, and then can the
country expect from the church the res Its that are so
necessary.

To actually go as far as is necessary in religious
teaching is impossible for the schools in a democracy; to
give over all her educa!:4onal vork to various churches denies

-9S-

the children that unity of f seling which a common body of

knowledge and attitudes, such as can be gained in the public

school gives J to expect the church to loake adeo.uate headway

with one hour a reek sched;^es is folly; hence the school day

must be shared with the church so that it may carry on its

part of the work efficiently and effectively.

Such plans as the ^"^alden plan, the Gary plan, the

Wenner plan, calling for one hour each school day, or even
in

less ^ome instances only three of the five school days are
asked for) seem to be the logical solution of the problem, 1%
is not, however, a ciiange that can be made in an hour, "ntil
people as a whole feel the imperative aeed for religious
teaching, and realize tliat the church can offer it in this
way, they will not give this new movement the whole-hearted
support that it needs.

When public school leaders swing into line v^ith
this challenging task, then v/ill v/e find that the schools will
be able to achieve to a far greater degree, one aim to which,
as builders of a true democracy, they are committed — the ideal
of making people, who know how to 'live together Trail in large
group relationships."

The End.

-lOQ-

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books

Athearn, Vvalter Scott: Character Building in a De locracy
New ^ork iiacmillan 1924

Athearn, TJulter Scott: Religicus Education and American

Democracy.
Boston Pilgrim Press

Berkowitz, Henrj'-: The i^ew Education in Religion
Philadelphia Jewish Chautauqua 1915

Betts, George Herbert: The ^^ew ■''rogram of Religious Education
Ne?: ^ork Methodist Boo:c Concern 1921

Brooks, Fowler D.: Psychology of Adolescence
Boston Houghton, Mifflin Co. 1929 *

Butler, Nicholas 'Murray: The Meaning of Education
New York Scribners 1915 -''^

Coe, George Albert: V.hat is Christian Education

New ?ork Scribners 1929

Coe, George Albert: Social Theory of Religious Education
New York Scribners 1917

Coe, George Albert: Education in Religion and wlorals
New York Revell Co. i904

Faulkner, Harold Underwood: Araerican Scononaic History
New York Harper's 1924

(Especially chapter on background of Civil 1/Var,? 197
See index for further references to "lawlessness")

Harlovy"e, r^alph Volney: The Growth of the linited States
New York Holt 1925

(Good discussion of lawlessness durin? r^-e construct ion
Period. P. 548 and on.)

Hartshcrne, Hugh a \d ^y, ivlark A: Studies in Deceit Volume One

Studies in Service and
Self Control Volume Two
Studies in the Organization
of Character Volume Tlu^ee
New York Macmillan Vol. 1 & I 1926-29

Vol. ? 1950 *

-101-

Nevins, Allan: American Social History as Recorded by
Brit" sh Travellers
New York Holt 1925
(Especially Chapter 2, but entire book gives good
picture of lawless conditions in esrly times)

Smith, H. -tt-ugustine, editor: w'ew Hyinnal for Aiaerican -^outh
I'Jew York Centuiy Company 1930
(See especially sections on "World Friendship";
"'i'orchbdarers" , and "Prayers and High Resolves" and
"Devotional ^ oetrj"" and ^ rose" in back of book)

Snedden, D^vid: Civic Education

i^ew iork World Book Company 1922

Thompson, Olive: A" Guide to Readings in Civic Education
Ber.celev, Cal. University cf California Press 1924
(See especially Part 5, Section 5)

Vieth, Paul H. : Teacliing for Ciiristian •'-'iving
St. Louis Bethany -"^ress 1929

Watson, Goodwin B.: Experimentation and Measurement in

Religi us Education
New York Association Press 1927 ^-

* Indicates that entire book was helpful.

Insert: Betts, George Herbert, 6. Siselen, i.C. &

Coe, G. A., editors.: Religion and Conduct —
A Report of a Conference held at Northwestern
University

Abingdon ?ress 1950 New ^ork

-102-

Periodicals

Adaas, J. T. "Our Lavrless ner .tage" Atlantic i«ionthly
Volume 142 December, 192b

Dodd, Vi, "Our Ingrowing tiabit of Lawlessness"

Century -^ag-zine, October, 1928 Pp. 691-8

Germly, K. "Our Fassion for ijaw "taking" iiarpers Magazine

November, 1928

Hadley, Arthur T.: "Lav/ Making and Law Snforcement"
Harpers ^'^agazine, November, 1925

Howarth, I. V^,: "Teaching of Patriotism" Educational Rgview
May, 1924

International Journal cf Religious, November, 1928,. Editorial
article

Journal of Religious Education, January, 1951, Editorial article

Moulton, Lord: "Laws and banners" Atlantic ^^gnthly, July, 1924

Snedden, David: "Good Citizenship — how Good?"
Educational Review, xiiarch, 1925

Bulletins , Monographs , Pamphlets , Etc.

The Art of Living, Boston Y. M. 0. A. 1950

Encyclical on Education of Women Issued by Pope Pius XI,
January 19, 1951

The Essential Place cf Religion in Education, National
Education Association, January, 1916

Preliminar'/' Report of the Comiss iron, iiiiessage and Purpose of

Y.M.G. A.: National Council of the Y.M.C.A., November 17,1950

The Teaching ^^flinistry of the Church, Keith, G.C., Elliot Church
Brochure Series, Elliot Church, l^est Roxbury

I